The Oroku Saki Empire
by D'Fuentes
Summary: The guys find themselves on a treasure hunt; forming new allies and joining with old ones. Who can be trusted? You'll just have to read to find out. Chapter 15: Boats & Planes.
1. Dead & Alive

****The Oroku Saki Empire****

**Chapter 1: Dead & Alive**

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><p><em>Note: Those guys were created by Kevin &amp; Peter and adopted by Nick!<em>

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><p>(APRIL O'NEIL)<p>

_Why today, of all days? _I wondered half annoyed, half mournfully. _It's Thursday, 5 pm, and I'm standing in New Montefiore Cemetery, among some of the wealthiest men and women found in New York City. Talk about the odd one out. _Freezing rain drizzled upon us as we witnessed the closing off of the funeral ceremony for one of New York's elite, Professor Takahashi Ichirou. He died from a heart attack four days ago at Mount Sinai Hospital.

I clutched my umbrella so close to my head that I felt the metal spokes snagging and pulling out strands of my hair. It hurt, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as the cold rain that fell upon the ground. The clouds shed long hours of tears that made the trees and grass droop downwards just like the people in the cemetery. It was indeed a sad day, but the weather didn't have to be so damn depressing.

Professor Takahashi was a dear old friend of my father, who, along with his wife, used to visit our old antique store quite often when I was growing up. The couple always seemed so happy together, and with every visit, he would purchase some rare and exotic antique for her.

I remember Mrs. Takahashi quite well, even though she passed away when I was fifteen. Her full name was Angela Smith-Takahashi, and she was a strong beautiful African-American woman, whose smile could make even the most depressed person feel welcomed. She was also a defense Attorney, who eventually retired from her job at the age of forty-seven when she found out that she was pregnant with her first child.

I had never seen a pair of people happier than those two since the day they came into Second Time Around to share the news with my parents. They reminded me of my own parents when they found out they were going to have another child, my younger sister Robin.

The rain finally stopped; as if it knew that the ceremony was over, and people began shuffling to get out of the cemetery. I rose from my seat and proceeded towards the family to pay my respects. They were gathered at the edge of the grave, almost directly opposite from where I was standing. I stumbled along with the moving mass of dull suits and extravagantly dressed women who apparently had never walked on grass in their lives.

One woman with a huge purple feather in her hat cursed at the ground as she lifted her heel out of the dirt. As she grumbled to herself, I walked around her and moved towards Takahashi's eldest daughter, Nicole. The nineteen year old was staring straight ahead with a numb expression in her eyes. There were no signs of crying.

Nicole was wearing a simple dark working suit, and her straightened long dark hair was clipped up into a sophisticated up-do that made her look, well, professional. She was standing next to a girl whom I did not recognize, and the unknown young woman who bore a striking resemblance to her.

However, she lacked Nicole's mixed heritage, and she was wearing a simple dress coat that reached down to her knees. She was holding onto Nicole's shoulder as if she was comforting her. Amidst my observations, I suddenly found myself caught up in a queue of people that appeared out of nowhere, and flocked towards the girls. _Didn't they see me here? _I once again felt like a tiny guppy swimming in a tank filled with sharks. These particularly rude individuals either bowed at them or forced them into their strangling embraces.

I also planned on being one of the 'huggers'. To Nicole's left was Takahashi's second daughter, Mya. She was the Professor's and Angela's last child; a miracle baby. Now eighteen, she stood at least two to three inches taller than her sister, yet she was shorter than me. She had her face buried in the neck of another girl.

I didn't recognize this one either. She was taller than the first, but she had the same face; possibly a set of twins. I tried to get a better look, but people were still hugging them and blocking my view. Taking another step forward to push my way through the crowd I tripped, and became the center of some people's attention. _Crap, my heel just went down in the dirt_. I shook my head to refuse a guy's help, and then I looked up to see Mya sobbing in the girl's arms. Unlike her sister, she kept her hair natural, and the curls were pulled into a tight ponytail at the back of her head.

Finally, it was my turn. _Boy, had they grown_. They were no longer the little girls I babysat for when I was in High school. I went to Nicole first. The Asian woman that was holding Nicole looked at me with uncertainty.

Ignoring her wary gaze, I bowed like I was taught by my unique _Sensei_, and was rewarded a small nod from both of them.

"Nicole, I'm so sorry dear. Your dad was a wonderful man and he would be missed dearly," I said, pulling her into a hug, and removing her from the other girl's grasp. I heard Nicole inhale, as she returned the hug. The energy she put into it was pretty much non-existent and it felt more social if not forced.

"Thanks, Ape," she replied softly, pulling away from me, and then found her way into the arms of her relative. "These are my cousins; Ayame and that's her twin sister Keiko." She said, pointing at the two strangers, and then to the girl who ultimately supported her, she explained, "Ayame, this is April O'Neil-Jones. She used to be our babysitter when we were little."

Relaxing a bit; Ayame forced a smile and bowed gracefully, "It is a pleasure to meet you, April-san."

"It's nice to meet you both," I said, returning the gesture. Keiko smiled and nodded at me, "The pleasure is ours."

Being this close allowed me to see the differences between the two girls. Keiko and Ayame had completely different smiles, and Ayame's face was more heart shaped. Keiko couldn't move as freely as she wanted to since Mya was still weeping softly in her arms. I moved closer to them and rubbed her back. "Mys, hey, sweetie; it's me, April," I couldn't help treating like she was that child I knew back then.

Mya sniffed and wiped her face with a hand kerchief before turning around. Her eyes widened and I felt her weight crash into me. She locked me in a tight bear hug. _Ah, that's my girl. Always free with her emotions._

"Oh Ape, we haven't seen you in ages, I'm so glad you're here. Are you coming back to the house with us?" she asked. Her deep brown eyes were the saddest eyes I've ever seen. Apart from Mikey's puppy-dog eyes that is. I felt a crushing weight on my heart compelling me to say yes, but I couldn't.

I opened my mouth to respond, however a male voice spoke instead, interrupting me.

"I am deeply sorry for your loss; your father was indeed an exceptional man."

I immediately released Mya and spun around. I froze when I saw the speaker. The only thing that kept me from running was Mya. She was still holding onto my hand. The four girls stared blankly at the man in the suit before them. I wondered if they knew who he was. _Why should they? Then again, why wouldn't they._

"Please accept my condolences, on behalf of the Oroku family. I am Oroku Saki," he bowed at Nicole and Ayame, and rose up to glance at Mya and me. I felt the heart in my chest flutter like a frightened bird. I couldn't move, much less breathe. The expression on his face was calm and solemn. It was as if he didn't recognize me. I'm not sure. This is not good. Does he even know who I am? If he recognized me, then he was putting on a very good act to hide it.

_Shit, isn't he supposed to be dead or somewhere on some distant planet halfway across the universe? How the heck did he get here? _He seemed to ignore my presence and focused on the Takahashi girls. Then he said something in Japanese. I couldn't make out what he was saying and only managed to pick out basic words. I guessed he was still going on about how sorry he was for their loss.

When he was finished, Nicole replied, "Arigato." Her face was still blank. Then he pulled his jacket open and pulled out a small white envelope from his coat. He said something in Japanese before handing it to Nicole. At first she looked surprised, and then she looked up at him with a confused look on her face.

"What is this?" she demanded in English. I was grateful for that. I guess I need to practice my Japanese more. Ayame moved to rest a hand on her cousin's shoulder to calm her down. Then she whispered something in her ear. At that moment, Keiko moved protectively towards Mya.

Saki made a small gesture in the air with his hand and said, "It is just something your father and I were working on. Once you open it you will understand." He paused to look at the girl more carefully. Nicole made no move to open the envelope. He sighed, disappointed by her lack of interest, "So far we have made no progress with it. After many failed attempts, it has proven to be quite the challenge. Your father was the one who did most of the research...but sadly, his passing has left me at a dead end."

Nicole's eyes narrowed, "And what exactly do you want me to do with this? Why are you giving it to me?"

"Well, I came to you with the hopes that you would be able to solve the puzzle. After all you are your father's daughter. The Professor has spoken so highly of you and your achievements," he paused to look over at Mya. "And your sister's as well. He always said that he had a gut feeling that you could figure it out."

My palms began sweating. I wanted to warn the guys as soon as possible that their most hated enemy was alive and well, and certainly up to something again. The only problem is I couldn't lose my cool. I didn't want to leave the girls either. Oroku Saki and his involvement with the Takahashi family basically threatened my entire family. I felt as though I was in a nightmare within a nightmare. Like I was being strangled and couldn't get up.

Nicole tore open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She stared at it and frowned. "I don't understand, is this some kind of code?"

Saki smiled broadly. It sent shivers down my spine. "I'm impressed. A single glance and you immediately recognized what it was. Your father was right. You are the ideal person for the job. I'm sorry we didn't think of it sooner," he said contently.

Nicole flipped the page over in her hand and continued to frown at the sheet. I couldn't see what was on it except for some black lines that stretched horizontally across the page. "I don't recall my father working on anything with you," she stated bluntly.

Saki flinched a bit. I smiled secretly. Nicole was not as dim as you thought.

"It is quite shocking to me that he has never mentioned this to you - he often spoke about you and how he believed that you could be the one to," he finished mid-sentence sighing.

I scowled inwardly as the man used her father to play on her psyche. To my chagrin, Nicole gave in. "Fine," she said. "I will look into it."

Saki didn't wait for her to finish and added, "I am so pleased to hear that Miss Takahashi. I will be looking forward to hearing from you and the progress you have made." He pulled out his business card and handed it to her. "My number is also on your father's contacts list, as he is on mine."

Nicole numbly placed the card in her pocket and shoved the paper into her purse. She looked back at Saki with dead eyes, "Yes, I will let you know as soon as I come up with something."

He didn't say anything in return, but bowed politely. "Again, I am sorry for your loss. If there's anything that you girls need do not hesitate to call me," he added persuasively.

The girls simply bowed, and a certainly pleased Oroku Saki walked away from us. I exhaled in relief. Although, I knew that this was the makings of something more. More grey clouds rolled in to set a downcast air for the rest of the evening, playing darkened tunes on somber drums for the man who will send our world sailing on crumbling icebergs.

"What was that about?" Mya asked suddenly.

"I'm not sure," Nicole replied. Her voice sounded uncertain.

"Are you going to translate that thing for him?" Keiko asked nervously. I saw sincere concern in her eyes as she spoke.

"Hmm sure, since Dad was working on it I don't see why not," Nicole replied carefully.

"He seems weird and mysterious, maybe you shouldn't," Mya suggested.

"He may also be lying, Nicole," Ayame stated frankly.

Nicole's surprised eyes focused on her cousin. "You say that like you know him personally Ayame. If he's lying, then he'd have bigger problems than just an unsolved puzzle, but I do recognize the symbols from some of dad's work and I believe that he's telling the truth," Nicole explained to her cousin.

Ayame remained silent, and I knew why. Nicole had a craving for challenges, and if she had already found one in that sheet of paper, then she was not giving up on it. No matter what anyone says.

"Honestly, Nicole, you said it yourself, you can't recall dad ever working with anyone by the name of Oroku Saki, why would you take up his offer?" Mya asked in a worried tone.

"I said that I will look into it. I never took up anyone's _offer_, as you put it Mys, besides, I don't see the harm in cracking some silly code," she stated, her tone clearly irritated.

I decided that it was time for my input. These girls had no idea who they were dealing with, but I couldn't give them a full explanation of my involvement with The Shredder. "Nicole, a word of advice dear; whatever it is you find in that, don't let him know, okay?" It was the best that I could do at the moment because telling Nicole Takahashi _not_ to do something; is like trying to convince horse to drink water when it wasn't thirsty.

She looked at me suspiciously, "Why not?"

"Just trust me on this, alright. Promise me you wouldn't give him whatever it is you find. Do you promise?" I pressed the matter as much as I could. Although, knowing Nicole as long as I have, she'd want a very detailed explanation as to why I was asking her to promise me.

Nicole wrinkled her nose, "I promise, but you gotta tell me why afterward...I'm too tired to find out now," she admitted regrettably. _Damn that Shred-head and his antics, preying off a young girl at her own father's funeral. Gosh, I'm beginning to sound like Mikey_.

Nicole walked over and took Mya's arm in hers, "Will you be coming back to the house with us?" She asked. By 'house', she meant penthouse. I smiled apologetically. I had no intention of going back with them. No matter how tempting a limousine ride was.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I've got an appointment first. I'll stop by tomorrow okay." _Right now I've got to warn my boys_. Nicole and Mya's face looked depressed. I felt guilty, but there was somewhere else I was needed.

"Sure, no problem. It was nice seeing you again, Ape," Nicole said, teasing me with the last word. I laughed.

"It was nice seeing you too,"

"Remember your promise, Ape; I really do hope to see you tomorrow." Mya added smiling.

"Of course, Mys, I wouldn't forget." We gave each other one last hug, and I watched the two sisters walk towards their limousine. Keiko and Ayame stayed behind. "Aren't you going with them?" I asked, studying the two young women standing next to me.

They both looked at me oddly. "Yes," Ayame answered, "And you are familiar with Saki-san?"

I was surprised by the question and had to take a moment before answering. "In one way or another," I replied distastefully.

"Then you are aware that he is not a good man," Keiko added, arching her brow. I wasn't sure if it was a question or a statement.

"Yes, that too. How did you know?" I wondered how old they were. They couldn't be more than twenty.

"We are from Japan, April-san. Oroku Saki is also from Japan. There are rumors that he and his family are involved in illegal activity. Our father does not trust him or anyone from his empire as a matter of fact. It strikes me as odd that our uncle would have anything to do with him," Ayame explained.

That wasn't exactly what I expected to hear, but close enough.

"April-san, we know our cousin Nicole is not the most obedient person in the world, but we will heed your warning. We trust you. My sister and I will make sure that Nicole keeps her promise to you," Keiko said.

I was relieved to hear that. "Why thank you. I know exactly what you mean. Nicole does as Nicole chooses. So I'll be seeing you guys tomorrow as well?"

Ayame smiled, "Yes, we are staying with them for the rest of the summer."

"Our final year in college resumes in September. So we will be returning to Japan then," Keiko offered.

_So they're twenty_. I was right. "Oh, okay," I said, and my attention was drawn to a freezing drop of rain that landed on my hand. "I guess the rain is coming again," I stated sourly, deploying my umbrella over my head. The girls opened theirs as well, and we looked up at the dark grey clouds rolling laboriously across the sky. Their hearts swollen to the point they were ready to explode and bleed large droplets of water upon us.

I glanced at the twin's faces. Their expressions went from being pleasant to mildly irritate. "I guess we better be on our ways then," I told them, wanting to get out of the weather before it worsened. "It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise," both girls replied. It was one of those unusual twin things. They briskly turned and walked off to join their cousins in the stalled limo. I, on the other hand, returned to my van and headed towards the lair. I knew that the guys were not going to believe what happened today, nor are they going to like it. I found myself worrying about them, and nothing has happened yet.

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><p>The rain was pouring heavily when I pulled into the Hamato clan's secret garage. My nerves were on edge and I cringed when the thunder reverberated through the tunnel. <em>It's just a thunderstorm, don't be nervous. Today is not a good day to be on edge April' <em>I tried to calm myself. '_Who the hell am I kidding, I just saw one of our number one enemies walking and talking amongst the living, which was no ghost. How the heck am I supposed to tell the guys, especially on this day... no, not today. I should, but I can't. _I shook the thoughts from my head, but they returned to haunt me. I sighed wearily and snatched the brown paper package that was lying on the passenger seat before leaving the van.

On entering the lair, something green flashed in front of me and I stopped to avoid being flattened." Donny, watch where you're going." I frowned at the purple-masked turtle. He ignored my disapproval and flashed a broad grin at me.

"Hey, you're finally here, we've been waiting for ages," he stated merrily.

I rolled my eyes at him, and laughed; unable to maintain my irritation.

"So, how was the funeral?" his voice was uncertain, clearly unsure about my reaction to that question.

I shrugged, "I survived." He smiled sympathetically at me. Just like Don; always worried about everyone else but himself.

Then his expression changed, "Are you okay April?" He tilted his head to one side studying my face. I blinked, surprised by the question. _Do I look that nervous? _I bit my lip. _'I can't tell them, at least not today.'_

"I'm fine, Don, why do you ask?"

"I dunno, when you came in you looked like you saw a ghost," he shrugged sympathetically.

I tried to hide my flinch, "Ha, no, it was just the funeral and this weather, it's so depressing." I said honestly.

"Are you sure?" A new voice asked from behind. I spun around to see Leo standing with his arms crossed and a smug look plastered on his face. Surprisingly enough, he had that mischievous teenaged air about him. Something I rarely witnessed when he was a teen, but now it was apparent; as bold as brass. _Yep, that did it. I definitely couldn't tell them about Shredder. Not today. Not when Leo's so content. I just couldn't ruin this day for him. I'll let them berate me for it tomorrow. It is worth it._

I practically froze, fearing that my nerves would rat on me. Leo could sniff out a liar like a bloodhound on the hunt for a small animal. _Damned emotions_.

Donny frowned at me. His eyes were suspicious, but Leo smirked, "You forgot didn't you?" he said accusingly. I breathed in relief. I shot him a look to show that I was deeply offended.

"No, how could I," I replied playfully, shoving the brown paper package into his hands. Then I pulled him into a tight hug, "Happy Birthday, Leo." I planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks, April," he mumbled bashfully. He peered into the brown paper bag and pulled out the neatly wrapped present that was concealed inside. Casey and I had chosen different gifts, since Casey thought that my idea was boring and _unsuitable _for a ninja. Or so he had put it. I didn't care. I knew the blue-masked turtle well enough to know that he would love my gift.

Leo slipped the gift back into the paper bag as if the bag was a special part of the gift, and a new voice exploded in our ear drums. "What is it? I it, I wanna see! What'd you get him, April?" Michelangelo boomed, running towards us. Leo and Donny sighed exasperatedly. I laughed at the excited turtle. You'd think that by now he would have outgrown his childish exuberance.

Donny stopped the younger turtle in his tracks when he pulled on his mask tails. "Just where are your manners?" He asked, disgruntled by Mike's behavior.

Mikey brushed his hand away and smiled sheepishly at me. "Hey, April, glad you made it," he paused thoughtfully, "I mean with the funeral and all-" he let his voice trail off, hanging loosely for someone to fill in.

"I wouldn't miss any of your birthdays for anything. Even if it's the end of the world," I informed him. I laughed when he grinned and did a fist pump. Then he turned on Leo, "So...what'd you get, what'd you get?" He practically jumped up and down like a child on Christmas Eve night.

Leo chuckled, "Settle down. Geesh, I'll open it." Mikey immediately calmed down and stared at Leo as he opened the present. I was slightly irritated by the way he carefully peeled back the glossy blue wrapping paper to extract the gift inside. Apparently he was going to save the paper for later. Mikey looked all too annoyed, and Don rolled his eyes at them.

My chest swelled with pride when I saw Leo's face light up like a bulb. Mikey scowled at the thing in Leo's hand, "A book?" He asked incredulously.

Don leaned in closer with an excited face, "Who's the author?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Ruth Benedict," Leo replied proudly.

"The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture, 1946." Don said in awe.

Mikey stared at his brothers in disbelief. "Thrilling," he said flatly.

"Wow April, you didn't have to."

I waved him off. "Meh, it was nothing," I smirked. "You see, that's not the best part of it. If you look at it more closely, you _might _just be able to see-"

Don almost squealed, "Printed in 1946!"

Leo's head jerked up in surprise and he looked directly at me, "That means that this is an original copy."

I nodded. He looked back down at the brown hard-cover book in shock. "It's in mint condition - how did you?" He began, but his voice faded when he became lost for words.

"You're forgetting what I do for a living," I reminded him, smiling proudly.

"Master Splinter's going to flip when he sees this," Don said, still shaking with excitement.

"Actually, he already saw it. When I first got it, I went to ask him if he was familiar with it. Next thing I knew, he was pulling out his very own copy. It wasn't the same print, but he told me that he used it to teach you guys about Japanese culture and so forth, so I thought -"

"Why not give a boring text book - that we've been forced to read as little kids - to Leo for his birthday?" Mike finished for me.

I glared at him. _You didn't have to put it so nicely Mikey,_ I said inwardly.

"Ow!" He yelled, and began rubbing the back of his head where Don and Leo smacked him. I laughed at him, and he stuck his tongue out at me.

"You're asking for it again, Mike," Don warned him. Mikey folded his arms and huffed.

"This is awesome, thanks, April," Leo said bowing. I bowed at the practicing ninja, secretly smiling at my own success. '_Top that Casey Jones.'_

Speaking of the devil; Casey and Raph came into the room, followed by Master Splinter. "Yo, April, I see you finally made it! I was beginning to worry," Casey shouted walking up to me. I hid my chuckle when I saw Splinter's ears flatten against his head from the sound.

"Yeah, the weather is terrible out there," I explained allowing myself to be wrapped in his arms. He pecked me on the lips sending a warm tingling feeling down my spine. His heat calmed my nerves and washed away all my despair from standing in the cold drizzle at the funeral. However, my anxiety over Saki remained.

"Aaaawe," the turtles chimed together, and I felt Casey's body stiffen from embarrassment. His embrace made me feel calm and worry free, but the guys' teasing made him release me almost instantly.

I sighed in disappointment. I guess for a brief moment he had forgotten that the guys were there. _Curse them. _I narrowed my eyes at them jokingly. They were grinning like mad men.

Splinter's eye caught the book in Leo's hand and he smiled at me approvingly. "Now that we're all here, I think it's time to cut the cake," he stated.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Mikey piped. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the living room area. They had set up a small table just outside the kitchen, and covered it with a crisp blue table cloth. Why I am not surprised? After spending a few years celebrating birthdays with these guys, I soon realized that their decorations matched the mask of whomever birthday it was. In this case, the decorations were blue because that was Leo's trademark color.

At the center of the table sat a round-double 3-inch layered cake with white and blue frosting. There were twenty-one candles placed randomly about the surface of the cake. _I wonder if it's chocolate._

"Mikey, I'm impressed, this may be your best one yet," Leo complimented his sibling. Mikey's chest puffed out with pride.

He grinned, "Wait till you try it bro." He struck a match and began lighting the candles one by one. The speed at which he did it made me marvel at his precision. Everyone was lit with the first touch of the flame from the match. When he was done, he took a step back and bowed like a pianist who had just finished a piece.

"Okay, bro, now it's your turn to take the floor," Raph patted Leo on the shoulder and nudged him forward. I watched silently as they went through their sacred birthday ceremony which was marked by the blowing of the candles. They were all so happy and content, and Master Splinter seemed to be at peace watching his sons tease each other, and bicker over whom got the last slice of cake.

I shook my head at my husband who continuously found himself in the middle of their small intermitted brawls. It was like watching a bunch of teenage boys at play; however, these were adult males in their own right. Yep, that's my life.

At one point I managed to end up in the center of one of their random conversations. It happened whilst we were all sitting together watching a movie. Raph was on my right on the couch, and Leo was on my left, when Raphael leaned over and asked, "So, Leo, what's it like to be two decades and one?"

Leo raised an eye ridge at the red-masked turtle, "_Two decades and one_? Donatello take off Raph's mask, you don't know where that thing's been."

My eyes widened and I stared back at Raphael. Nope, it was him. That was Raph's shade of green. The red-masked turtle scowled; obviously offended by the remark, and he shrugged it off. "Come on, Leo, are you spilling or what?" Raphael smirked at the elder.

Leo shrugged. "I feel the same, Raph," he replied after a moment of thought. "You're gonna be there soon too you know, why'd you ask?"

Raph laughed, "I dunno, I just felt like asking, since I'm next an' all."

"Raph, you always ask that same question every year, and Leo always gives you the same answer. Why?" Donatello asked from his spot on the floor. He and Mike were finishing off a tub of ice cream.

_Oh Lord this is too bizarre, cute, but bizarre._

"Mind your own business, Don, me and Leo are having a conversation here. It's part of the tradition," Raph replied smugly.

Don shook his head, and I stifled a giggle. Casey flashed me a glance that meant to ask if I understood any of it. I nodded 'yes', but he still looked confused.

"I can't wait to be 21!" Mike announced suddenly.

I stared at him and whispered in Leo's ear, "Is he really going to be 21 this year as well?"

From the look Leo gave me, I knew that he thought that I had either lost my marbles or lost my memory. According to their story, they were all approximately the same age, and their birth dates were chosen by each one of them according to their presumed rank on the team. Mikey, being the most immature was fourth. Not last, just fourth. I asked if he was the 'last' once and the turtle had a fit. I will never forget that day. He was helping me move stuff around my first store and I lost my oldest china set.

Raph and Don's ranks were, well, interchangeable on the team, but Raph's birthday came before Don's. When I questioned it, Splinter said that, as a child, Raphael often competed with Leo for the role of leadership. Thus making Raph second in rank, even though Donny has the mind-set for the role.

"Oh, you know what I mean. He hardly ever acts his age," I said exasperatedly.

Leo chuckled, "Mikey may be eccentric, but in a battle he certainly acts his age."

I regarded the turtle thoughtfully. He was amused by my question. His peaceful demeanor was so darned blatant, that I was suddenly reminded that it wasn't going to last for very long. An old enemy has returned, and this rare version of Leonardo would soon be lost to worry and concern. It wasn't fair. They deserved to have peace and happiness. Something I would have to crush tomorrow when I break the news to them. I couldn't do it today.

_I promise to tell you all tomorrow Leo, but for now enjoy this while it lasts._ I thought sadly, and cast my eyes towards the movie.

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><p><em>Wasn't that bad right?<em>

_Review if you wish, or add to story alerts / critic / whatever. _


	2. Anxious & Waiting

****_The Oroku Saki Empire_****

**Chapter 2: Anxious & Waiting**

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><p><em>Read &amp; Review or Just Share your general thoughts  Ask questions / Whatever. I'd really appreciate it._

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><p>(KEIKO TAKAHASHI)<p>

After speaking to the red-headed female, who seemed to share a mutual feeling of dislike for Oroku Saki, my sister and I made our way back to the limousine where our cousins were waiting-whether patiently or absentmindedly- I did not know.

I couldn't imagine in the slightest way, exactly how they were feeling, but the loss of my Uncle Takahashi Ichirou increased my own fear and anxiety for the death of my own father. He was back at home in Japan; confined to his bed by lung cancer.

He was restricted to oxygen 24/7, and therefore was prohibited from attending his older brother's funeral out here in New York. To add injury to insult, he was most disgruntled when he found out about the funeral arrangements.

They chose to bury their father alongside their mother, instead of giving him a traditional Japanese ceremony. I understood why, and I give credit to them for honoring their father's wishes. Something my sister and I may have to do one day. _Don't think about it. _I berated myself for dredging up the thoughts.

_Poor mother, her ears were probably being chewed off by him and his nagging at the moment._

I sighed, and cast a concerned glance at my cousins Nicole and Mya. They were sitting on the seat opposite to us, and both girls were staring blankly through the window of the vehicle. They looked exhausted and so lost. We returned to the apartment and spent the rest of the evening amongst acquaintances of my Uncle and others who offered their condolences.

By, 8pm everyone had left the house, and we gladly retired to our respective rooms for the night. I felt so sore and exhausted from all the harrowing events that led up to this moment that I was seeing my bed in my eyes before I even got to my room. There's nothing more inviting than a warm, fluffy mass of bedding to embrace you for the night. I crawled into the sheets and flopped down, instantly closing my eyes.

My brain had already blanked out the door opened, bringing me back to 'life'. My sister had lingered into the room, and was peering through the door. "_You're not going to bed?" _I asked her in my native tongue yawning. The clock on the wall ticked time away diligently like a committed soldier with no intentions of stopping.

"_Yes, I just have this bad feeling...like something terrible is going to happen_," she replied nervously shifting on her feet.

"_Such as_?" I asked studying her face closely. She looked worried.

_"I do not know, Keiko, it is just a feeling_," she paused for a moment, and then her head jerked up. "_I heard Mya crying when I passed by her door, do you think one of us should stay with her tonight_?"

At that moment my heart sank. I felt sad for the loss of my Uncle, but seeing my cousin's reaction often brought me to tears, and right now I couldn't bare breaking down in front of them. Ayame immediately noticed my apprehension and gave me an apologetic look.

"_It is alright, Keiko. I know how you feel. I will stay with her," _she said softly.

"_Thank you," _I welcomed relief as if it was a comforter.

"_You are welcome. Good night,"_ she called softly walking out of the room.

"_Good night, Ayame,"_ I called back, and crawled under my sheets to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I found Ayame and Mya in the kitchen conversing over the morning paper. Whatever it was, it had them so engrossed, that they didn't seem to notice that I had entered the area and said good morning to them.

I frowned and sneaked in between them to peek at the article they were reading, "What is so interesting?"

"You," Mya replied instantly.

"Me?"

Ayame laughed, "All of us apparently."

"Uh?" Both girls found amusement out of my confusion. I looked back at the article and saw the root cause of their amusement. It was an article on my Uncle's funeral and it was accompanied by a grey photo of the four of us standing in the cemetery. In the background, stood many forgotten faces; all of them dressed in dark clothing. I could not recall ever seeing any of them although I'm certain we were introduced to each one of them.

They made it sound as if his daughter's lives were tragedy stricken, by mentioning the death of their mother a couple years ago, followed by the death of their father four days ago.

I moved out from between them and turned my eyes to Mya. She seemed to be in higher spirits today, and turned the page as if it was another ad in the paper.

"Are you okay?" The words left my mouth before I could retract them. She looked up from the paper and offered a weak smile.

"You should definitely tap into your twin thing more often you know, then you'd know that Ayame had asked me that same question a thousand times over." Her gaze was level, and I couldn't read into it.

Ayame shrugged sheepishly, "I am sorry, we are just concerned about you, that is all."

"And we do not have a _twin thing_ or whatever it is you call it. I am not even sure if that happens between fraternal twins," I added.

"Yeah, yeah, by the way, we've got a couple of things to do today...you guys can come along if you want. It's just some stuff to close off with dad's company and signing over papers etcetera, etcetera..." she stated nonchalantly, when Nicole waltzed into the kitchen, interrupting Mya's little conference.

Nicole ignored us, went directly to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup of coffee. The rest of us glanced at each other and shrugged.

Mya was the one who spoke up. "Good morning to you too, Nicole," she said flatly.

Nicole looked up from her cup and her eyebrows arched as if she had just seen us. "Oh, good morning, guys," she mumbled awkwardly. Then she ducked her head back down into her cup.

"What do you guys want for breakfast? I'll make something..." Ayame offered hesitantly.

"I'm not hungry," Nicole stated bluntly without looking up, and then she made her way directly to her father's study. Mya, Ayame and I watched as she shut the doors behind her, and settled into the large leather chair behind his desk. His office was mostly of a contemporary, modern design – lots of silver and grey if you exclude the desk. I looked at her hands as they danced over the keyboard before she pulled the page out and slipped it into the scanner.

_She was going to decipher the code now! Nicole, why are you doing that to yourself, we barely made it back from your father's funeral._

The girl was clearly hurting and was trying to push aside her emotions with whatever distractions she found. Even if it's a mysterious piece of paper she got from a man she hardly knew - a man whose life was surrounded by secrets and darkness.

Ayame saw the irritation in my face and nodded at me to stay with her. I left them and walked towards the office. I tapped on the glass, and waited for her to acknowledge me. I didn't want to be rude.

She looked up, and gave me a slightly annoyed look before signaling for me to enter. I walked in and stood beside her to see what she was looking at on the computer screen. I must admit, I was impressed. She had already scanned the page to create a digital copy, and began running a series of decoding programs against it.

"Don't you think you should take this day to get some rest? I mean, you've been going constantly since your father was admitted to the hospital two weeks ago," I said carefully, bracing myself for Nicole's rebuttal.

"I'm fine," she replied shortly.

I smirked. "You are a terrible liar, Takahashi, you look like you barely got enough sleep last night," I informed her.

She huffed, and clicked on a series of figures that changed in one of the windows on the screen. "I slept well enough," she said distractedly.

"So, you are going through with this, huh?" I asked, curiously browsing over the symbols with my eyes.

She didn't respond, which I took as a glaring 'yes'. "There are two things that I've learned from my father; one: sleep should never be denied, and two: never trust a man called Oroku Saki," I finished looking directly into her brown, obstinate eyes.

Her index finger froze over the mouse, and she regarded me thoughtfully. "So that's why you came in here," she sighed. "What was Uncle's reason for not trusting him, Keiko?" she asked seriously.

'_I should have seen that coming.' _Sadly, I did not have an answer for her. My father always expressed his dislike for the man and the name alike, but he never digressed into the real reason behind his mistrust.

"He never said," I admitted honestly, "...but if I were you I'd take his advice, your friend April-san seems to share a mutual feeling about that man."

Nicole laughed shaking her head, "Uncle Jirou and April have nothing in common besides being over protective and paranoid, and I'm not sure what kind of connection April has with a man such as Oroku Saki. He didn't seem to acknowledge her or show any signs of recognizing her at the funeral."

I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off by a soft ding. One of the programs on the screen popped up showing that it was a 100% completed. It read 'FAILED' in bold and red.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nicole frowned, and typed frantically on the keyboard.

"What is it?" I leaned closer to get a better look at the program. It was one that I've never seen before. In fact, I didn't recognize any of the programs that were opened on the screen at the moment. "Is that one of yours?" I asked.

"Yes, and it failed," her voice trailed off. "It shouldn't have. It's one of my most advanced programs," Nicole explained, horrified that one her programs was unsuccessful in deciphering the coded sheet. Like me, Nicole was studying for her major in computer programming and analysis. I was one year ahead of her.

However, we often indulged in hacking computers and developing relatively harmless, but persistent computer viruses for the sake of fun. We never unleashed them on the public, but kept it between ourselves, as a way of challenging one another.

It started off with me sending her specially designed worms that would target a specific program on her computer, and then she would have to figure out a way to get rid of it. Our silly dabble eventually evolved into more complex programming, and a dangerous obsession. '_What have you created, dear cousin?'_

I studied the other programs that were still running, and pointed to the one on the farthest right on the task bar. "What about that one; open it up."

She clicked on it, and a small window popped up, sending the 'Failed' program to the background. "This is slowest of them all, I hardly doubt it would work on this thing," Nicole pointed out.

By now I had forgotten about my promise to April, and was drawn in by this strange code and Nicole's programs. She was right. The program was quite rudimentary as compared the other, but it still looked promising.

"Yes, but it would have failed already. Is this one of yours also?"

"No, it's dad's. It's programmed to recognize characters he created for a 'brain teaser' he made for me," she replied, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

I moved my eyes across the other programs that restored themselves on the screen displaying messages such as 'FAILED', 'UNABLE TO RETRIEVE', and 'NO MATCHES FOUND'. 'Rudimentary' survived, running slowly but surely. Nicole scowled in frustration and tapped furiously on the keyboard. I hid a chuckle and pulled her hands away from the computer.

"Don't kill it, I will help you decipher it _later, after_ we get something to eat," I stated forcefully. "Leave that one running, who knows, it may reveal something in its own time," I suggested lightly. My best bet was that the most basic method was going to work.

She sighed.

I pulled her out of the chair, "Come on, let us see what those two are making for breakfast." As I turned to shut the double glass doors, I saw her glance at her father's photo on the eastern wall with a sad longing look in her eyes. I knew that she was missing him. Then she turned and headed for the dining room area.

* * *

><p>(OROKU SAKI)<p>

I was staring at the light rain that drizzled outside, leaving behind tiny rills of water that ran down the window. I hated this office. It was nothing but an inferior replacement for my previous headquarters. A building that represented all that I had achieved on this planet, from the simplest form of technology to '_foot tech soldiers'. _All destroyed at the hands of a few misfits, thorns in my side.

'_Soon I would have everything I need for my revenge...' _

My line of thought was interrupted by an irritating buzzing sound that came from the phone on my desk. _Just in time,_ I smiled and picked up the receiver. "Speak."

A raspy voice whispered through the earpiece, "Master, the girl started to decode it, but she was having some difficulties."

My ears burned at the sound, and I almost snapped the receiver into two. "What kind of difficulties?"

The ninja's breathing was barely audible, but there. "I'm not sure, but from what I can see from here, all the other programs she had created have failed; only one was left running."

I took a minute to absorb what the human was saying, "Only one you say,"

"Yes," came the response. I closed my eyes for a moment. _Whatever her difficulties were, they were minor details, one was more than we have ever been able to achieve._

My mind then returned to the foot-tech ninja on the line and I asked, "What's your current position at the Takahashi's place?"

"I am outside of the window to Mr. Takahashi's home office," the man replied, and then he hastily added, "Would you like me to retrieve the document and the program?" I almost laughed at his eagerness to show his innovation.

"No, that would only set back what she has already started. Leave it there until you get further instructions. In the meantime keep an eye on them, and alert me as soon as you see any signs of the redheaded female called April O'Neil. Is that understood foot soldier?"

My mind flashed to the woman in the cemetery standing near Takahashi Ichirou's youngest child. I could tell that she was stunned to see me alive and well, but she managed to maintain her composure. I believe by now the turtles would have been well informed of my resurrection. _A matter that I would deal with in due time._

"Understood," the ninja replied, and I hung up on him. Too much of my time has been wasted on those turtles and their allies, and once more our paths will cross again. This time however, it will be different.

I rose from my desk and headed towards the dojo. I must prepare for tomorrow night.

* * *

><p>(LEONARDO)<p>

I was tapping the meter repeatedly as Donatello had instructed and waited for the tiny needle to move. I sighed in relief when it did. It made an arc from 30 psi to 10, then to 5 psi.

"How's it looking over there?" Don called from his station at the control board.

"It's dropping as we speak, what about you?"

"All the water in #39 has been diverted to the #41 junction, the drop in pressure means that it's working. So, we shouldn't have to worry about the water backing up and bursting through our walls," Don explained. The worried tone in his voice was gone.

"So, we're good to go?"

"Yeah," he replied distractedly.

It had been raining for the past two and a half days now, and the water from the surface that was being channeled into the #39 drainage pipe system began building up in pressure. According to Don, the pressure build-up would have been so great that it would have caused a backwash, and consequently flood the lair.

At the moment we made our home in an abandoned reservoir pump station, which still possessed the functioning controls for some of the water systems.

Since the rain had started, Donatello took it upon himself to diligently monitor the system, and that was when he discovered the pressure build-up. He said that it could have been caused by some blockage, or it could have collapsed on itself after years of neglect, and what not. As a result, we were trying to divert some of the water into another conduit by shutting down and opening various valves.

My job was to check the pressures in the system, while Don did his thing with the controls. I don't normally grasp one hundred percent of what he says, but when it comes to our home and safety; whatever Donny wants me to do, becomes first priority.

"Is something wrong, Donatello?"

The purple-masked turtle's eyes focused on me when I got his attention. He moved from the control area and walked towards me.

"Uh, no...not really," he replied. I heard his voice drop with uncertainty.

_What's bothering you now Donatello? Your voice betrayed you ages ago, like a baying hound. Don't try to cover it. _I wanted to say those words to him, but he wouldn't appreciate me prying. I'll let him decide if he wants to tell me.

"Right," I said sarcastically knowing that it would draw him out.

"I dunno, it's just that when April came by yesterday she seemed...spooked," he admitted.

"I know what you mean, but she did some from a funeral after all. Some people are terrified by cemeteries," I supplied. As far as my knowledge went, April did seem a bit out of sorts yesterday, like she was hiding something. I wasn't sure, and I didn't want to question it because she had returned from witnessing a final parting ceremony for a deceased friend.

_Who'd feel normal if they had just left a funeral and had to attend a birthday party? Not many._

Don raised an eye ridge at me, "April's not superstitious, Leo. Besides, it wasn't that kind of spooked. She was all tense and distant." Don frowned in thought. She was in fact tense. It was as though she had something to tell us but was too afraid to.

"Well then, I guess we'll find out when she gets here. Raphael said that she wanted a ride to some place and that she had something to tell us," I stated loosely, but I had this gnawing feeling in my stomach telling me that whatever she had to tell us, we weren't going to like it. I guess Don was getting the same feeling also.

Donny scowled, "Bad feelings equal bad news."

I shrugged. I think I was getting numb with age. There was no such thing as bad news in my book for us anymore. Just news. In our world everything was either life or death. We live today, but we could die tomorrow.

By now we had reached the lower level and entered into the main area of our home. Don's mask was furrowed at the brows as he frowned in thought. I shook my head and left him to himself. I didn't need to ask what he was thinking.

"I see you two are finally done," a female voice said from across the room. April was standing near the sofa with Mikey and Raph. Master Splinter was apparently taking in his soaps, or stories as he put it.

"Yeah, we're all clear," Donny replied confidently. "I didn't know that you were here already, what gives?"

She gave him a wary smile, and shrugged, "Yeah well, I had something to tell you guys, and I couldn't wait any longer."

Master Splinter switched off the television and motioned for us to join him in the dojo. We silently followed him, and that's when it hit me. Whatever news April was going share, was really, really bad news. Not _just _news.

I remained sitting with my legs crossed and didn't even flinch, when April finally blurted out her _discovery._

Raphael was the first to fly to his feet. "He's what!" he growled angrily, already holding his sai in his hands. April flinched, and I saw her breath hitch at Raph's outburst.

"Raphael," Splinter admonished him gently, "Let her finish."

My brother's face maintained its scowl and he began pacing the floor. _I couldn't bring myself to speak. Shredder's alive and back here on Earth, in New York. _I stared at the wall behind April and Master Splinter, as the others spoke.

"Are you sure, April?" Donny asked tentatively. "I mean, it could have been a mistake."

April sighed shaking her head, "No, Don, I'm sorry. He was there in person, and he spoke to Nicole and Ayame."

Michelangelo's head jerked up when he snapped out of his shock. "Who?"

"The professor's daughter and her cousin. He gave her a sheet of paper with some code on it and he asked her if she could decipher it for him. He also said that he, and the late Professor were working on it together, and they couldn't figure it out," April explained. Her eyes glanced at me briefly showing a hint of fear and concern.

"What kind of code...and what'd she say?" Donatello asked, his voice rising with interest.

"I dunno, but she seemed to recognize it and agreed to do it," April replied, but was cut off when Raphael's voice boomed again.

"So you're telling us, that one of Shredder's evil plans now lies in the hands of some kid, and you just stood by an' watched this happen?" Raphael's jaw clenched in rage, and he flung one of his sai at the wall.

April cringed. "No, I couldn't just snatch the paper from her. What did you want me to do," she cried defensively.

"Raph's got a point, April," Mikey added. "You could've just taken it from her after the ole Shred-head left."

Master Splinter remained almost as silent as me, but what concerned me was why she waited 'till today to tell us when, she saw him yesterday. _Yesterday_. I forced my face to stay frozen in its emotionless state, not wanting to show my true thoughts on the matter. I was deeply troubled.

"No, Mikey, I couldn't. She wouldn't have given it to me. Especially when she was convinced that her dad was working on it," April shook her head regrettably. "I made her promise not to tell him if she cracked the code. I told her that Saki was not a man to be trusted, I couldn't exactly tell her why." She shot us a knowing glance.

_I understand that April, but I don't understand why you hid something like that from us yesterday._

"How can we be sure that we can trust her word?" Splinter asked carefully.

"Yeah, that I'd like to know," Raph demanded.

"Guys, she promised me and I trust her okay. Besides, her cousins expressed their distrust for Oroku Saki as well. The girls said that it was odd for their Uncle to be working with a man like that. Someone their own father clearly disliked. I didn't get all the details, but they also said that they'd make sure that Nicole kept her word," April quickly explained.

"Well, I don't know any of these people that ya're talking about, so I don't trust 'em," Raph stated stubbornly. He crossed the floor and retrieved his sai from the wall. April's eyes lowered.

"Well I'm going over there anyway, so I'll let you guys know what she found okay. Who knows, I might be able to get it from her, and then Don could probably have a look at it. That way, we'd know what the Shredder is up to," April asserted.

Raph spun on his heels and pointed his sai at her, "Well you better."

"Raphael, be calm my son," Splinter said firmly, and the turtle folded his arms. "It is not like us to not trust Miss O'Neil's judgment."

"I am calm," he replied shortly. Mikey chuckled at that, and a moment of silence passed after Master Splinter's voice of opinion chained in the loose emotions.

Donatello took advantage of it and said, "Okay, now that's settled. We'll drop April off at the apartment later and wait for her to return with it." He looked at me for my approval at which I nodded, and so it was decided.

I stood up and bowed at Master Splinter, asking to be excused. He granted my request to leave the room, and I walked out. I felt April's eyes on my back as I left the room.

I heard Mikey call out to me from behind, "Where are ya goin', Leo?"

I didn't answer - didn't want to. There were so many things going through my mind at the moment that I couldn't provide an answer for my orange clad sibling.

Then I felt a light hand on my shoulder stopping me. It was April. She walked around to look me in the eyes.

"Leo, I know you're mad at me, but I just couldn't tell you yesterday," she rambled off.

_I don't believe you, you're gonna defend your choices even though they could have put us all at risk. _My mind reeled. I tried to keep my emotions under control, but my hands were seconds away from shaking in rage.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You saw him yesterday, April; before you came here, yet you failed to tell us. Why?" I asked harshly. I didn't intend to sound that way, but it was too late.

"Leo, I couldn't, it was your birthday for crying out loud. I didn't want to ruin it. I couldn't tell you on your birthday that our biggest enemy is back...after all you guys went through just to get rid of him..." She paused to study me, and then continued. "You guys are my family, and what he did - I just couldn't bear to see you go back there again."

"Go back to where?" I questioned. I was pretty much puzzled by her statement.

She shook her head, "Never mind that. Look, I don't care if you're mad at me or not. I did what I did because I care about you guys. Of all the people that I know, you five deserve a little peace and happiness once in a while without it being interrupted or put on hold for other things like saving mankind. It's not fair," April said justifying her choices.

"No, April, if the Shredder had planned to attack us today, we'd be all dead by now because you failed to warn us the day before. Why, because you thought that we looked too happy on my birthday and didn't want to ruin it. So tell me what is better, April - us worried and alive, or happy and dead?"

I pressed on the word 'dead' just to make my point and she got it immediately. She bit her lip and hung her head. "Fine. I'm sorry," she said softly.

_I felt bad for being hard on her, but when it comes to my family's safety, I will sacrifice anything...nothing else matters. Not even pseudo birthdays. _I sighed. _I was judging her based on my own opinions and I wasn't being fair_.

"Listen, I didn't mean to...it's just that..."

She didn't allow me to finish and spoke. "No, you're right. I get where you're coming from, and I understand. I really do. Sometimes I just wish you guys didn't have to deal with stuff like this all the time. "

"Yeah, me too." I said darkly.

"Well um, I better call Casey and let him know where we're going later."

"Yeah." I watched her walk towards the living room and shook my head at the woman.

_It's not fair... we deserve happiness and peace. Why would she think that we're not happy? It's like she thinks we're constantly in battle and surrounded by life threatening... _I cut myself off and groaned. _Who am I kidding... we are... it just seems so normal now... but it's not like we don't have peace and quiet… though rare._ I stared blankly into space deep in my thoughts.

"Leo, you okay bro?" Don asked. He, Mike and Raph were standing behind me wearing concerned looks on their faces.

"Yeah," I numbly answered.

"Dude, first Raph, now you," Mikey interjected rubbing the back of his head. "You guys had total meltdowns on April."

"Shut up, Mikey," Raph scowled at the younger turtle.

"What'cha gonna do about it, Raphie?" Mikey taunted.

Raphael growled at him in response. One thing Michelangelo always had an upper hand with; was drawing a reaction out of someone. Especially Raph - and the turtle never learns that he's letting Mikey win by responding. He shouldn't. We've tried telling him that, but he never listens. Michelangelo was laughing at him now earning more growls.

I waved my hands in front of me, "Enough, guys!"

The command made them snap into a more serious attitude. _That's more like it._

"We've gotta prepare ourselves for tonight...I don't think Shredder will just leave one of his plans in the hands of some girl unguarded. I have a hunch his Foot clan has been resurrected as well and they've probably got the house under surveillance. So we have to be on our toes."

The three turtles nodded solemnly.

* * *

><p>By 8:30pm we found ourselves in Central Park West parked opposite a penthouse apartment, hidden within the darkness of an alley. April had gone into the building and Donatello was using his night vision goggles to observe the building.<p>

The building itself made me uncomfortable, not to mention it was still early, and people were roaming the streets casually.

"Is she inside, can you see her, Donny?" Mikey was crouched down beside him peering over his shoulder.

"She's inside, and I can't see her, Mike... but that's not all I see," Donatello's voice was solemn.

"What is it?" I pulled the goggles from his hands before he could reply and looked through the lenses.

"The Foot," he replied sourly.

Sure enough, the shadow of a figure briefly revealed itself on the roof of the building before disappearing again. I was right. Shredder is not one to let his possessions go about loosely.

_What I don't get is why bother with all this. Why not just hire the girl or capture her to do it. Wrong thing to think, but it's just uncharacteristic of him. _This night was going to get more interesting.

"What are they doing, Donny?" Mikey asked as soon as he saw Don put back on the goggles.

"That's easy shell-fer-brains, they're here for the code," Raph answered our sibling crudely. He was smiling when he said it, which meant that he knew that something was going to go down tonight. I didn't know if it was his gut feeling, or just the sight of our old enemies that made him anxious, whichever it was, Raph wasn't going home tonight without a fight.

"They're waiting... and watching. Leo was right. Saki didn't trust Mr. Takahashi's daughter to contact him if she cracked the code," Don supplied.

"The Foot are keeping tabs on her progress, and as soon as she figures it out, they'll strike. We're not sure if she figured it out as yet, but we still need to give April a heads up," I informed my brothers.

"So we're not moving in on them now?" Raphael was already impatient.

"No, we'll wait and watch," I said patiently.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"Because, _Raphael_, one: it's too early; we're already exposed as it is. Two: that building has no fire escapes concealed by darkness, and three: if we scale it, we stand the risk of being seen by the people in the other apartments." I regarded him with a steady gaze. He was already annoyed. I offered him no look of understanding.

Mikey patted Raph's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't worry, Raphie, you'll get to bust some skulls eventually... just chill."

The orange-masked ninja had a mischievous look in his eyes and fought back the smile that was forming at the corners of his mouth. Raph shrugged his shoulder to get rid of Mike's hand and growled.

"Shut up, Mike," he snapped walking back to the front of the van.

Mikey laughed while Don and I sighed.

* * *

><p><em>You know me...things happen.<em>

_Stay cool all you lovely people!_


	3. Turtle & Benz

**The Oroku Saki Empire**

**Chapter 3: Turtle & Benz**

* * *

><p><em>Here comes the action, then it will be action from here on. We must have a little bit 'calm' in between though. I don't like to 'spoon feed' all the info on characters...I try...but I prefer to deliver little by little. <em>

_So as you know TMNT characters are not mine. _

* * *

><p>(APRIL)<p>

I sighed heavily from inside the safety of the elevator, glad to be free from the protective gaze of the four turtles that were watching me from under the shield of the van.

Tonight was supposed to be a friendly visit just to pay my respects to a family that I knew from childhood. Instead, it turned out to be an undercover mission to retrieve a document that shouldn't be in anyone's hands at the moment.

We're not even sure what it is. I was beginning to feel the weight of guilt crashing down upon me. For one, I lied to the guys about what happened yesterday, and had to bear the full brunt of their disapproval today, and two, now I'm going into the home of two girls who consider me as their big sister, only to play spy for a family of ninjas.

_Yay me_, I thought dryly, _five more floors to go. _I sighed as though I was a thousand-year-old, menopausal woman, and then my phone rang, like it was time to wake up. Without looking at the number I answered, knowingly.

"Yeah, guys." Of course they'd be the only ones calling me via this line.

"April, keep an eye out, we just got visual confirming that the Foot are here," Don said.

_Nothing new there, Donny._ I rolled my eyes at the news, and glanced at the changing blue, electronic elevator numbers to see how far I had reached before giving a response. "Yep, don't I always? You be careful out there."

He snorted, "We're always careful."

"_Right..._just be careful," I said a little more forcefully.

"Yeah, bye." He hung up, and I shoved the cell back into my pocket. The doors finally opened to the top floor and I made my way to the front door. _Here goes nothing._

The instant I knocked the door opened.

"Ape, come on in," Mya said breathlessly, ushering me into her home.

"How'd you know that it was me at the door? You didn't even ask," I said in possibly one of my most motherly tones, following the young female across a hall that I've seen one too many times. The tones were mostly earthy and grey, with sprays of green and orange about in the form of vases or orchids. It set off a neutral to warm mood in my mind, and deeply contrasts the brighter whites and peaches it had on the walls before the professor's wife passed away. I found myself taken in by the drastic changes.

Mya frowned and did a half turn at my statement and said, "Oh no, I saw you on the security camera." She nodded at the small screen that sat at the center of the door. It displayed two images, one that showed the hallway and the elevator; and the other showed just in front of the door.

Blinking in surprise, I mumbled, "Oh..."

She laughed, "Yeah, I know right. I hated it when they first installed it. I got caught trying to sneak a guy in whilst everyone was out. That was the day they installed it, and unfortunately for me, dad went over the videos to see how it was working." She shrugged sheepishly.

I laughed. "Sorry I'm late though. Would have made it earlier, but I had other engagements."

"Oh that's okay; you made it just in time. We just got back, actually. We had to... uhm... tie up loose ends with the company and dad's will," her head and voice lowered on the last words as if they were hard to say, then she looked up again. "We didn't think it'd take us _all day_; my thumb is sore from signing all those documents... and it was like going from one meeting to the next... then there was the bank... they told us that it was just our signatures they needed, so Nicole and I thought that we'd just book all the appointments for one day, just to get it over with. Boy, were we wrong." Mya sounded exasperated beyond sorts.

I smiled sympathetically with her, and she continued.

"I totally lost track of time, we should have called you," she apologized quickly.

"No it's okay. We're all here, aren't we?"

She nodded in agreement with a faltering smile; clearly exhausted, and then she led me from the foyer into the living room area where we met Ayame. She was sitting in the single seat, with her feet pulled up under her, and a blanket wrapped around her entire body. Her dark hair was pulled up into a loose bun on top of her head, and she reminded of one of the girls from Memoirs of a Geisha, except without the make-up.

Her brown eyes met mine. "April-san, I see you kept your promise," she teased.

"Yeah, well at least I try to," I replied honestly.

"Key word to note there, Ayame: _try_," Mya added arching her eyebrows to poke fun at me.

I smirked at her jokes. "So where are the others?" I asked, noticing that Keiko and Nicole were missing. I was concerned with what she – Nicole – had done with the code, or at least where they had put it so that I could figure out the best way to secure it before those ninjas could make a move.

Ayame frowned, "They're in the study trying to decrypt that piece of paper."

"I take it you don't like computers very much," I pointed out.

She shrugged, "I use them, but what they're doing is beyond my comprehension."

"And mine," Mya added. "April is also one of them, so be careful what you say to her," she teased.

Ayame laughed, "I can't promise you that."

"What can I get you?" Mya turned to me, "We've got wine, coffee, tea, cakes, various pies, and I think leftover pizza."

I waved her off, "Um just water is fine, thanks." _Although, I'd rather have the wine, tonight wasn't a good time to get hazy... tea and pizza were two things that were definitely out of the question._

Mya walked off, and I glanced in the direction of the study, or as others would say, Mr. Takahashi's office. "So how long have they been at it, decrypting the code that is?" _I was curious._

"Nicole started as soon as she got up this morning, then my sister had to drag her away from it to eat breakfast. After that, we went out and got back around seven, so I would say about an hour or so for the most," Ayame replied.

"You're joking right?"

She raised an eyebrow at me, "What does _joking_ mean?"

"Oh I'm sorry, joking means that you're not being serious," I tried to explain instantly.

She giggled at my awkwardness, unbeknownst to me. "I am only joking, April-san, no need to worry," she smiled.

"You got me," I smiled back at the girl, more so hiding the fact that I was worried about the group of extremist outside waiting to start a war with either these defenseless women or my friends. Anyway I looked at it; the end result would be a fight with the turtles. _How funny the odds were always against them._

Mya returned with a glass of water, interrupting my brain churn. "One water for the carrot-top," she grinned.

I glowered at her for the reference. "Very funny, Mys," I took the glass from her, and she laughed.

"We figured it out," a new voice suddenly quipped from behind. Keiko entered the room smiling triumphantly. Unlike her sister, she had her hair loose, and it fell mid-way down her back. "Oh, hello, April-san, how are you?" She greeted me warmly.

"I'm fine, and I see you're in good spirits," I returned.

"So what'd you figure out?" Mya asked flopping down in the couch beside me.

"We cracked the code, I'll show you," she gestured for everyone to follow her. Ayame and Mya reluctantly got up from their seats. They were clearly disenchanted by computers. My heart skipped a beat. This was it. I wondered how long it would take for the Foot to realize that the code was deciphered.

Inside the office, Nicole sat at her father's desk intently staring at the screen with a frown on her face.

"Hi, Nicole," I said.

She jumped and her head jerked away from the screen. "Hi April, you startled me, I didn't expect you to be here. I thought you weren't coming again." Her voice faltered as her eyes returned to the screen. I guess she was totally consumed by whatever they found.

"Yeah well, a promise is a promise," I replied.

"So what'd you want us to see?" Mya asked impatiently.

Her elder sister frowned at her. "Just that," she pointed at the small window on the screen.

We all gathered around her to see what they'd discovered. On the screen a small rectangular window was open and its background had numerous symbols all running in vertical lines all over it, with a small bar inside displaying a short phrase.

"He, who is laid to rest, finds his piece," Nicole read out loud.

_'He, who is laid to rest, finds his piece?' What piece? _I ran the line through my thoughts trying to make sense of it.

"What kinda message is that?" Mya asked incredulously.

"I don't know," Nicole replied hesitantly as she clicked the mouse, and downloaded the program somewhere. I couldn't see where she saved it, but I took that opportunity to text the guys.

"It is some kind of clue, the word _piece_ is in the wrong context," Keiko explained.

"Actually, it's a homophone. Two words pronounced in the same way, but are spelt differently, and they have different meanings... piece and peace," Ayame supplied.

"So it could mean peace then, lik e?" Mya asked spelling out the word.

"No, I don't think so, I think it actually means piece...as in a puzzle piece," Nicole said. She seemed a bit worried and distracted.

"Nicole, is something wrong?" I asked.

She looked back at me, and I saw that look in her eyes. Fear.

"I... this code, I recognized it because it was something dad created, it wasn't something he was working on," she replied shaking her head.

"What do you mean? _Dad_ created it?" Mya asked.

"Because he did! That's why none of the other programs worked, they didn't recognize the symbols. Dad had created them for a puzzle he made for me years ago, Mya. The only reason this program worked was because he designed it, he included his symbols in here." Nicole's tone was dead serious if not alarmed.

"So what you're saying is; you just cracked a coded message that your father created," I started. "But wouldn't that mean your father wasn't working on it. He wasn't trying to decipher it - he built it in the first place. So Oroku Saki lied to you. He wanted you to decode something your dad didn't want anyone to know about," I pointed out.

The four young women went silent. Judging from Nicole's expression, she may have already figured that out too. She stared at the computer screen for a moment and then she began typing.

"Nicole, what are you doing?" Keiko asked in alarm.

Nicole uninstalled the program and began erasing the hard drive. "I'm deleting it."

"Why? Don't you want to know what it means?" I asked, knowing that we needed that message to use it against the Shredder.

She didn't answer. She continued with whatever she was doing. Suddenly the telephone rang.

"Who is it?" Mya asked.

Nicole's breathing changed when she saw the number.

"Nicole, who is it, why aren't you picking up?" Ayame asked. It rang four times before Nicole snatched up the receiver; almost yanking it away from Mya's hand.

"Hello," she waited. "Yes, this is she... we're both fine, thank you... I'm sorry Mr. Saki, I didn't get a chance to... no, no, it's okay, it wouldn't be too much trouble, I promise... Yes I'm sure." Everyone paused along with the girl.

_Shit, they saw, he knows already! _I thought when my cell buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw a message from Don.

- _They're moving, get them out, we're coming! -_

"I will try as soon as I get a chance... yes, I promise I will call... you're welcomed, good bye." Nicole hung up.

"Guys, I think we should l... " I cut my words off when all the power went. It was pitch black.

* * *

><p>(OROKU SAKI)<p>

Once again I found myself pacing my office, waiting. Patience wasn't always a virtue with me. The night was still young, and the smell of rain lingered in the air. The weather was once again turning for the worse. A little storm never hurt anybody. It just created black outs.

I turned to my desk when a familiar buzzing sound reached my ears.

"Speak."

"Master, I think they have deciphered the encryption," the Foot-tech ninja reported. "Should we move now?"

"No, give her ten minutes," I replied and set the receiver back down. I wanted to play this out. I will let her call first as we had agreed. If she does, then she may be welcomed as part of my team, if not, then I will have no used for her after tonight.

I let ten minutes elapse before the phone rang again. _Ah, she calls, finally, _I think reaching for the phone, only to be disappointed by the number that showed on the screen. It was not Takahashi's.

"Master, the others are in the office with her, they're looking at it. The red-head is with them also," the soldier said.

I scowled, _she's with the enemy_.

"Get your men ready to move in three minutes, you know what to do then," I told him and slammed the receiver down. I tapped my finger for a few minutes on the phone before picking it up again. _It's a shame such brilliant minds have to go to waste_.

A female voice came through the ear piece. "Hello."

"Is this Miss Nicole Takahashi?" I used her full name since all four of them carried the same surname.

"Yes, this is she."

"It's me, Oroku Saki, how are you and your sister tonight?"

"We're both fine, thank you," she said, but that was all I allowed her to say before continuing.

"Did you look into that document that I gave to you yesterday?" I asked. Her breathing was unsteady, and I could hear her anxiety in it.

"No, I'm sorry Mr. Saki, I didn't get a chance to," she replied. She was lying to me.

"I see... that's a shame. You see Ms. Takahashi, something has come up unexpectedly and we were forced with an earlier deadline for that little project you're working on for me. We need to have that document decoded before we move forward on to the next stage. I was hoping that you would at least have something for me by now. I mean, after all, your father did say that you had a sixth sense for these things. Am I wrong to believe him, or is it too much of a challenge for you? I could _take it back_ if you like."

She hesitated before answering, "No, no, it's okay, it wouldn't be too much trouble, I promise -"

I didn't wait for her to finish, "Are you sure you didn't get chance to have a look at it?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"I will take your word for it, but please, see how soon you can look at it for me. Time is against us."

"I will try as soon as I get a chance," she replied hastily.

"Promise me you'll call the instant you find something." I insisted, though I was lying.

"Yes, I promise I will call."

"Good, thank you for assisting me on this, you have no idea how much this means to me," I lied. I did not appreciate the girl's deliberate attempt to dissuade me.

"You're welcome."

"Good bye, Nicole."

"Good bye," she replied, and hung up.

It is time for these games to end. She obviously did not want me to get it back, but I will. I will have what belongs to me. Nicole Takahashi chose the wrong person to play with.

_They'll never know what hit them_.

* * *

><p>(MICHELANGELO)<p>

I was observing the Foot-tech ninja at one of the windows on the top floor of the building when Donatello tapped me on the shoulder.

"April sent a text, she said they cracked the code," he said.

I didn't have time to respond to that because the invisible ninja shifted slightly and signaled to the others on the roof.

"What are they waiting for?" I asked, noting that they all seemed to stall in their movements.

"An order," Leo replied. He was wearing one of Don's night-vision goggles over his eyes and kept his eyes on the stationed ninjas at the top of the building.

Suddenly, the ninja on the window balcony made a solid motion with his hand signaling to the others above. I recognized what it meant immediately. Then, one of them on the roof moved from the edge and disappeared in the background.

Don was already sending a text to April.

- _They're moving, get them out, we're coming! -_

"So what about all those people?" I asked studying the number of floors we had to scale to get to the top.

Don opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped short when the entire building went black.

"Uh, Don, was that you?" Raphael asked from the front of the vehicle.

"Nope, we have the Foot to thank for that."

"Okay lets go, Raph get us closer," Leo ordered.

"You got it," Raph brought the van back out on to the street and pulled up near the back entrance. We were out the van in that instant and began our climb. Scaling the building was easy, given the amount of balconies that decorated the structure.

"Top floor; anyone?" Don asked as Raph used his sai to open the window.

Raph climbed in first and stuck a hand back out to signal that it was clear. We entered the room and the first thing I noticed was the four post bed that sat at the center of the room. I couldn't see the colors of the sheets and drapery because of the goggles I was wearing, but I was able to make out the tiny flowers and vines that ran across the fabric.

_Definitely a girl's room_.

Leo, Raph and Don moved silently across the room to the door, and Leo signaled for us to follow him. I kept my eyes on them, and relied on my ears for everything else. A few years ago, I would have probably been talking, or Leo would have been giving orders by mouth, but not this time. Stealth was something we had to use to our advantage.

As we made our down the corridor, the distinct noise of a scuffle reached our ears. It was already pitch black, and I'm guessing the Foot probably had their night-vision gear on as well. Darkness just became obsolete in this mission now.

Leo held out an arm to make us stop, when six figures came into view. We concealed ourselves behind a short wall that separated the end of the corridor from the living room. I wasn't sure what the point of it was, but whoever was in the living room couldn't see anyone walking down.

Three girls were being pulled into the living room by three male figures clothed in black from head to toe. The girls struggled to free themselves from their captors, but were prevented by a ninjato that was held at each of their throats.

One false move on our part and they'd be as good as dead. I was about to move when Don stopped me and pointed at two glass doors from which they came. It looked like some kind of office, and the first person I recognized was April. She was being held back by two ninjas and another girl was held to the wall by her throat. The blade at her neck reflected the pale moonlight that poured through the window.

There were four of us to three of them, so naturally one of us would take a back seat. Leo decided to take the position and moved back, making a gesture with his hand to allow us the floor. I smirked at him and followed Raph and Don into the room.

The men in the living room were not aware of us until Raph, Don and I had their weapons twisted away from their intended targets.

The girl I was saving ducked to the floor as soon as I pulled the man away from her, and I knocked him out with a dragon punch. He fell to the floor with a thud and the girl scrambled to get out of the way.

She blindly felt around the ground in the darkness before she found the couch and stood up. I moved to help, but stopped when Leo called out to me.

"Mikey, this way."

I glanced around for the blue-masked turtle, who happened to be halfway through the window waiting for me.

I hesitated for a bit wondering what the _hell_ he was doing. We were supposed to be going into the office, not out of the building.

"Mikey, go with Leo," Don said, pulling me from my thoughts. The guy he was fighting was putting up a fight and both ninjas had their weapons locked mid-air. "We've got this," he urged me to go on.

I went behind Leo, whose shell had just disappeared out the window. "Don't mind me, Raph," I said jumping over him as he rolled away from a ninjato.

"Whatever, Mike," he replied, which was followed by the sound of someone's jaw being cracked.

_Ouch, _I cringed for whoever it was. A left hand from my brother was something you're better off not knowing about.

I landed on the balcony in just enough time to see Leo swing through the next window which apparently led to the office. _I gotta give you credit bro, you've got this ninja thing down to a tee. _I shook my head in wonder, and jumped to the next balcony.

I don't know what my brother wants me to come along with him for, but by the time I entered the office, which was, what a few seconds after him, Leo had already taken down two of the Foot ninjas.

The one that held to the ninjato to the girl's neck growled, "Move an' I will kill her."

I stood still, and Leo's breathing slowed. He was thinking of his next move.

"I don't think so, now let her go," the blue-masked ninja said.

The girl's eyes were focused on the blade at her neck. Her lips were pressed tight and she appeared to have something inside her mouth. She had this 'dead set' determined look about her.

"No, not until she gives us what we came for," the ninja replied, he tightened his grip on her neck. "Now sweet heart, are you gonna give me what's in your mouth or do I have to take your head along with it?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to do it. _She's crazy! _I thought.

"I think you're a bit mixed up about the _'us' _there," Leo informed the man.

"I said don't move, or she dies," he returned, and pressed something on his ninjato that lit up.

Suddenly, more Foot ninja came through the window. I rolled my eyes. _Like we didn't see that coming_.

_To hell with this_. I moved in a flash towards the girl and used a pressure point on the ninja. His hand immediately went limp and the ninjato fell to the floor. I ripped him away from the girl and threw him on his back kicking him in the head. The girl gasped for air and whatever was in her mouth, fell out and slid under the bookcase. She was already down on all fours searching for it.

Leo and April were handling the reinforcement that came through the window, along with the help of Don and Raph.

I reached out for the girl on the ground, "Hey, leave it, we gotta go."

She reacted by pulling away from me, "No, get your hands off me!"

"Hey, I'm not the enemy here, I'm trying to help you... come on," I tried pulling her up again, but was caught in the head by a Foot ninja. I staggered back, and retaliated with my nunchuck. He fell back, and I finished it off by kicking him in the chest.

I stepped back and felt something brush against my leg. I almost jumped out of my skin, and spun around to see the girl still on the floor, her right cheek pressed to the floor, and one arm was feeling under the bookcase.

_Crazy chick. _I sighed heavily, and pulled her up to her feet. "Leave it, we have to get out of here," I said sternly. She probably weighed 105 pounds for the most, and I set her back against the wall. I saw her glaring at me even though she probably couldn't make out anything in this darkness.

"I need to get it," she stated adamantly, trying to go back for it.

I held her back. _Why did I have to get stuck with the stubborn one? Geesh._

"You need to get out; I'll get it for ya."

"What about my sister and the others?"

"They're fine," I replied hastily, but I wasn't sure if she heard me. I went down on all fours and peered under the case. There, was a small black object all the way to the back against the wall, I reached for it and pulled it out. _Yuck, it's all wet_. I wiped my hand against my clothing.

"Mikey, April, get the girls out, we'll be right behind you," Leo said.

I took hold of the girl's arm and led her out of the room. "By the way, who are you, and where is my sister and our cousins?" She asked sounding slightly uncertain.

"No time for questions, the others are this way, come on," I replied shortly. Don guided April out behind us and we gathered all four of them and led them towards the stairwell.

"Who are you and where you taking us?" One of the other girls asked. This one had a Japanese accent, and she had her messed up hair all tied up in one.

"Guys, it's okay," April reassured them. "They're friends of mine, and we just need to get you four to safety first that's all, I promise."

"Safety, safety where?" Another girl with a Japanese accent asked. She was taller than the other, and her hair hung loose past her shoulder blades. I remembered April saying something about a twin, but these two didn't look identical to me, in fact, they looked more like regular siblings that had a striking resemblance to one another.

"Who were those people?" She continued.

"Yeah; and why did they attack us?" The girl with the curly black hair asked.

We were leading them down the dark stairwell that was lit with the light from Don's shell-cell flashlight. I rolled my eyes at them.

"Let's concentrate on getting away from those men first, okay," April stated; her face showing an entire tale of thinning patience with these females and their millions of questions.

"Concentrate? April-san I don't think I can concentrate on anything at the moment, I feel like a blind person being led into the unknown."

"I agree with Keiko, first we're attacked by a bunch of people we couldn't even see. Then we're rescued by more people we can't see, and now we're being led down the staircase in total darkness, and we _still_ don't know who's who and what's what, or where you're taking us," the one with the curly black hair stated exasperatedly.

"Ladies, ladies please, when we get out of here we'll answer your questions," Don said, sounding mildly irritated.

"Wow, Don, you're definitely a ladies man." April teased.

I couldn't help laughing.

"April, I trust you and all, but I don't know how much I can trust someone that thinks that this is funny," the _crazy chick _said sardonically.

"Hey, at least I wasn't the one looking for some silly piece of junk whilst my head was about to be sliced off," I pointed out.

"That was you? Where is it?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Safe," I returned frankly.

I knew that she couldn't see me, and had to rely on the light we supplied for them to walk down the stairs; so I didn't expect her to pursue it. She stopped and twisted around, causing me to bump into her.

"Hey, watch it," I warned her.

"I'd like to have it back please," she demanded. I rocked back on my heels in surprise.

_Clearly she had issues. She sounded bossy and stuck up. Kinda like Leo. I wonder if she's his type. They'd make a great couple and they'd have each other to boss around. Heh_.

"Nicole, it's pitch black, and men are trying to kill you so keep moving!" April snapped.

She frowned and reluctantly continued behind the others. We finally reached the exit when door when Don opened it and pulled it back shut again.

"Donny, what's the big idea?" I asked confused by his behavior.

"Bad news, guys, we need to take a detour."

I moved past the others and went up to the purple-masked turtle. "A detour, detour to where?"

"The Foot, I think the others just arrived for the party," his voice was solemn. "Aw shell, is there another way out of here, April?"

"Mya, is there a way for all of us to get out of here?" April turned to the girl with the curly hair.

"Uhm… yeah, I supposed we could try the garage," she replied hesitantly.

"Shh, guys, I hear someone coming," I motioned for them to move back and my brother and I positioned ourselves at the base of the stairs. Two pairs of green feet appeared on top of the last flight, and I sighed in relief.

"Did you two get April out with the girls?" Leo asked replacing his katanas in their holders.

"Not exactly," Don replied, and gestured to where they were. Leo raised an eye ridge at the younger turtle.

"Why are you guys still here?" Raphael asked moving towards the door. I moved in a flash to block him from going out. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Change of plans, Raph, Shredder's soldiers are out there, we've gotta take a detour," I explained quickly.

"To where?"

April came forward, "There's another way out; through the garage," she explained.

"Okay, lead the way," Leo instructed.

"I would, but I can't see a thing," she stated.

"Sorry," Don replied passing the light to her.

I didn't like this plan, and I could tell my brothers didn't like it either, but we had no choice. So far we've been concealed by darkness and none of us were prepared for when these four human girls saw us in full lighting.

We followed April and the one called Mya down another flight of stairs and entered into a large basement garage.

"I guess we could take both cars," Mya suggested, taking April's arm and aiming the light at a vehicle.

Raph and I shone our lights and it fell upon three vehicles. One was a black 1966 Imperial Crown, the other was a yellow 2009 Audi A8 and then there was a dark blue 2008 Mercedes-Benz S550.

"Whoa," Raph exclaimed in awe.

"Whoa is right," I agreed with him. "So who's taking the Imperial?"

"No one, it stays," Mya said stretching her hand under the A8 just above the front left tire. Nicole moved towards the Benz and did the same.

"What are you doing?" April asked moving towards the Benz.

Nicole withdrew her hand and held up a small device in her hand, "We didn't get chance to grab the keys, so we're taking the spares."

"I guess some of you could come with me, and the rest of you could go with Mys," Nicole stated unlocking her car.

"Yeah, but I think you two should let the guys drive, those ninjas are not gonna let you get away without a fight... or chase for that matter," April told the young woman.

Nicole arched her eyebrows, "Where exactly are we going?" she asked dropping the key into April's palm.

"You'll see," Leo said climbing into the driver's seat. Nicole jumped into the passenger seat, and I was in the back with April and Ayame. April was in the middle. I kept waiting for that moment of revelation when they saw us, and so far they haven't.

Raph was already in the driver's seat of Mya's car, with Mya, Donatello and Keiko. Both cars hummed in union, and their lights flooded the basement garage to reveal the other vehicles parked down here.

"Um, one question," Ayame began, "If the power's out, how are going to get out? The garage doors will not open."

"Good point, but I'm sure this baby could make an exit for us," I stated, feeling thrilled with the sudden rush of adrenaline.

Nicole turned to Leo's dark figure in the seat. "No, he - you can't do that," she cried in horror.

"Why not, you've got a better idea?" he asked calmly, revving the engine lightly.

"I do," she said, and pulled something from out of the glove compartment. She pointed it at the doors and pressed a button. A tiny red light shone for less than a second, and then she put it back where it was found. "..and that's why," she pointed at the doors that were slowly opening.

I wasn't wearing my night-vision goggles, but I could tell that my brother probably had the same look that I had on my face. I saw him glance at the other car where Raphael was and tilt his head to crack his neck. The race was on.

The yellow Audi was the first to fly through the doors, with us a _second_ behind.

The streaked street lights illuminated the inside of the vehicle, partially revealing our true nature. Ayame didn't seem to notice, because she had her eyes closed, and she flattened herself against the back of the seat; overwhelmed by the speed of the traveling vehicle.

Nicole probably had her eyes shut too, and April and I stifled our laughter when she lifted her hand over her head to hold onto the back of the seat.

Leo glanced at her, "You okay there, you're not gonna hurl or anything are ya?"

"No, I can't watch," she said through her teeth.

Leo chuckled. "How are we looking back there?" he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

"I don't think we're being... I think I spoke too soon, step on it, we're being followed," my eyes were locked unto a black van that was now in pursuit of us.

"Not for long," Leo said calmly, and he mashed down on the gas. "Send a message to Don, tell him to tell Raph to stay close - we don't need to… shit."

Much to my brother's chagrin, Raph suddenly steered the Audi into a street on the right, and Leo missed the turn due to the speed we were going at. The van that was following us took the turn so sharply that the van tilted to one side and the tires screeched in return.

The seatbelt I was wearing tightened and pulled back on me as Leo slammed on the brakes and sent the car reeling into a 360 turn.

Nicole and Ayame screamed in fear, and I covered my ears to shield my eardrums. The tires screeched to a stop and we were now facing in the opposite direction. _I love this car!_ I grinned in delight. Then we took off behind the van that was chasing Raph and the others. The girls were still screaming and it seemed to bother Leo's concentration as he tried to catch up with the van.

"Hey, hey it's over, stop yelling!" he shouted.

I looked over at Ayame, and it was then I realized what was happening. She was looking back and forth between Leo and me and pressed her back to the door; her eyes were wide with fear. She saw us. I smirked, strangely enjoying the fear I struck in someone.

Nicole was no different, and had her knees up to her chest screaming her head off.

"Leo, can't you shut her up - April, may I," I snapped, turning my eyes towards Ayame.

"No, Mikey, put your nunchucks away," April demanded, and she grabbed Ayame's face in her hands. "Ayame, calm down, it's okay, they're friends...breathe, they won't hurt you."

Ayame calmed down and glanced from Leo to me and shook her head, "_Karera wa nani ka_?" (What are they?)

Before April could reply, the car swerved unto another road in pursuit of the van and the Audi.

Nicole also stopped screaming and appeared to be hyperventilating. Leo swore. "Now what's wrong with _you_, first of all...yes, I'm a turtle and so are my brothers, but you need to be quiet for me to drive okay, your sister and my brothers are in that car and we need to lose those guys...so will you calm down?" He sounded irritated and the girl in the passenger seat stared back at him, dumbfounded.

"Good," he muttered. "What about you guys in the back there?"

April turned to Ayame, "You okay?"

The Asian girl nodded her head quickly and she settled back into her seat. I shot a smile at her, and she frowned and sat back.

"Yeah, we're good, bro."

"Mikey, remind me next time to let you or Don drive," Leo said clenching his teeth.

"I wouldn't mind," I laughed.

* * *

><p><em>Again thanks for R&amp;R!<em>


	4. Audi & Traffic Lights

**The Oroku Saki Empire**

** Chapter 4: Audi & Traffic Lights**

* * *

><p><em>Once again the TMNT characters are no creation of mine.<em>

* * *

><p>(DONATELLO)<p>

I felt so thrown off when I pulled the door open and saw dark shadows emerge from a vehicle that was parked alongside our van. They moved discretely and would have been missed by the average person, but we've been dealing with these guys for so long that it's almost impossible to miss them. '_Shit,' _I shut the door immediately and turned to the others.

Mikey was already on alert and gave me a questionable look. "Donny, what's the big idea?"

I shook my head at my younger sibling. "Bad news guys, we need to take a detour." I told them, trying to revise the image of the building's floor plan in my mind to determine the next route out.

I was still wearing my night-vision goggles and I could see the confused expressions etched across the five women's faces, which we were trying to save from the Foot. Michelangelo, who was clearly dissatisfied with my answer, pushed past the four young women and came forward.

"A detour, detour to where?" He asked anxiously.

"The Foot, I think the others just arrived for the party," I said solemnly. Not only were we blocked in, but we had not transport to get away. "Is there another way out of here, April?"

I asked the question after considering the basement garage and discarding it when I remembered that the power was cut. It'd just be another trap down there with those automated doors. However, I quickly learned that that was our way out, and we had to make the best of it.

After being joined by Leonardo and Raphael, we found ourselves being led into the garage basement, where April and the girl called Mya brought us to two vehicles. In relief, I smiled to myself as she and her sister unlocked their respective vehicles; an Audi A8 and a Benz S550. _There's always a way out._

I watched as each girl surrendered their keys to my two elder brothers, under the persuasion of April, and climb into the passenger seats of their cars. Raphael had the weirdest smirk on his face as he climbed into the yellow Audi, excited to get the car on the road. Leonardo, who was driving the Mercedes, appeared calm but alert and Mikey wore all the anxiety on his face for him. I shook my head at them and closed the door as I got in.

The engines of both vehicles revved simultaneously as if Raph and Leo were operating on the same mind frequency. The red-masked ninja looked across at the other vehicle and grinned.

"You think Leo could take me in that?" He asked, directing the question at me.

"I don't think he's thinking about that right about now," I replied, glancing at both girls who sat nervously in the vehicle. Mya was sitting next to Raph in the passenger seat, and Keiko was next to me in the back. "We need to get out of here, and fast, with minimum damage of course," I was referring to Mya who was sitting in the front seat.

Crashing through anything with her in the front had it drawbacks. "Do you think you can do it in this car, I mean it's not exactly the battle-shell, maybe she and I should switch," I suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a better idea," Raph replied and he turned his head to Mya. "Hey, kid, you need to get in the back," he told her.

I couldn't see the girl's face at the moment, but judging from the expression on Keiko's face, I could tell that she knew that we weren't getting her cousin to budge.

"But it's my car," Mya protested. "I'm not moving, if he wants to sit up front, then he's gonna have to sit on me," she stated adamantly.

_Wow, talk about stubborn, _I sighed shaking my head.

Raph snorted, "Hmm… whatever, have it your way, how thick do you think those doors are, Don?"

"They're about..." I started but was interrupted by a gasp.

"You can't crash my car into that, I'll open it," Mya quickly interjected. Raph and I looked at the young human girl in surprise.

I wondered how she planned on doing that when there was no power in the entire building, but she was already digging around in the glove compartment for something, and flung various items out of her way.

"Do you need some light to see?" Raph asked skeptically.

She shook her head, "No, I keep the remote right here...I just need to feel around all this junk." She sighed and pulled out a mass of paper unto her lap, "Gosh, I should really keep my stuff organized."

"You do know that your remote won't work right, there's no electricity, in case you haven't noticed," I stated.

She stopped to respond when the garage doors suddenly started and began sliding upwards.

"Did you do that, how?" I asked in disbelief.

"I didn't...Nicole probably found hers before I did...it's a safety feature. When the power's cut, it trips a switch in the battery generator, and that allows it to open and close with the remote. So during a power outage, no one gets trapped in or locked out." she explained.

"You know I never thought of that," I admitted.

"Great, now that the _Geniuses_ are acquainted, I think we can go now," Raph stated, mashing down on the gas.

Keiko and I were forced into the back of the seat as Raph sped out of the garage, and took the car into the full light of the street. When the lights hit the goggles, I had to shut my eyes before it blinded me, and tear the thing off my head. I looked back for the Benz, and sure enough Leo and the others were following behind.

"Heh, Leo didn't expect that now; did he?" Raph said playfully roguish, glancing in the rearview mirror. He had completely forgotten about the spot we were in and reveled in the fact that he had an opportunity to race.

"Raphael, focus, this is not the time!" I chided him impatiently; not quite in the mood for Raph's male ego fancies.

Then, in the polar opposite to my brother's voice, an ear splitting scream filled the car. _Oh just great._ I rolled my eyes as both girls recoiled in fear after seeing us fully in the light. Raphael scowled as he focused his eyes on the road and I palmed my face.

"Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you," I said softly, trying to plead with the one in the back seat with me, hoping that she would see some civility in us rather than just judge and fear us by our appearance. _Humans can be so shallow_. "Don't be afraid. It's alright...we're friends of April, remember?" _As if they could hear a word I was saying over all that noise._ I sighed inwardly.

By the grace of some merciful force; Keiko's scream lessened to a small squeal, but Mya's was still murder; and Raph occasionally swerved the vehicle in irritation.

"Arrrrggggghhhhh! Shut your freakin' mouths already!" Raphael yelled, causing all the other noises to end abruptly. "As long as I'm driving, there will be no screaming or I'll give you something to really scream about, got it?" Raph threatened menacingly.

The red-masked turtle was dead serious, and even I was intimidated by his outburst. "Okay, not my choice of action, but effective," I said laughing at my hot-headed brother and the women.

"_Anata wa nanidesu ka?_" Keiko asked from her seat beside me. She was still in shock, but managed to get the words out of her mouth.

"Is she speaking Japanese, what'd she say?" Raphael asked, hearing the familiar tongue spoken in the back.

I opened my mouth to reply, but Mya beat me to it.

"_What are you_?" Mya gazed at Raphael in wonder from her seat, and then she looked back at me. "Are those masks?"

"Masks?" I raised my eye ridge at the eighteen year old.

"Yes, mine's red and his is purple," Raphael stated nonchalantly, ignoring the true meaning behind her words.

She frowned at the turtle certainly perplexed.

"No, these are our real faces," I chuckled.

Keiko tilted her head to one side. "You are..._kame_...turtles," she said after a brief moment.

I smiled at her. _At least their shock isn't too bad,_ I thought. "Yes, mutant turtles to be exact," I corrected.

She and her cousin looked at each other and then at us. Raph flashed a grin at Mya.

"What's the matter, kid, haven't you seen a mutant turtle before?"

She blinked in surprise, "I guess not, or I would have remembered..." her voice dropped off at the end. I guessed she was still trying to wrap her thoughts around us and figure out what to say next. "I'm talking to a mutant turtle that's driving my car and he's calling me a _kid_," Mya sounded like she was talking to herself rather than to us.

Raph shook his head, "Well, you're a kid aren't you?"

Mya's chocolate eyes turned back on him, "I'm eighteen and I have a name you know, it's Mya."

Raph snorted in mirth. She wasn't aware that I already knew their names, but in the case of Raphael; I wasn't quite sure.

"Okay, Mya. I'm Raphael and _Genius_ back there is Donatello."

I smirked at my brother who glanced at me through the rearview mirror. _He was enjoying this. The last time we had an encounter like this with a human was with April. She freaked out so much that Raph and Mikey thought that the episode deserved to be put into some hall of fame and entitled 'Priceless'. _

"Raphael and Donatello," Mya repeated the words as if they were a foreign language on her tongue.

"Yeah, don't wear them out," Raph stated.

"My name is Keiko," the other said hesitantly.

I nodded, and she was still staring at me in wonder or shock. "How did you come to be?" she asked.

"Well..." I began explaining but cut off my words when the vehicle took a sharp turn at the corner.

"Sorry guys, looks like we've got company," Raph's voice had gone flat. His face was set in stone and his eyes darted from the rearview mirrors to the road. I looked back as well and saw a black van gaining on us from behind.

_Now the Foot was chasing us, and we're not even in the battle-shell. Whatever it was that these girls found, the Shredder was sure going to the extreme to retrieve it._ I swore under my breath, and looked through the window in the back.

"What's he doing?" I absent-mindedly asked, staring at the dark blue vehicle that kept pulling in front of the van to prevent it from over taking.

"Looks like Fearless is playing hero," Raph said with a smirk on his face.

Mya and Keiko were looking back as well.

"Those...ninjas...they're not going to give up until they get us are they?" Mya's voice was steeped in worry.

I looked back at her and shook my head. "No, they will do whatever it takes."

Her gaze was still fixed on me, deep in thought.

"All of this has to do with that code; doesn't it?" Keiko broke her silence.

"Yes."

She shuddered lightly as she inhaled, then her gaze traveled to her cousin's eyes. "We got it from a man called Oroku Saki yesterday...he wanted Nicole to decipher it, and I helped, even though I knew he couldn't be trusted," she admitted regrettably, pausing to look at Mya. The eighteen year old continued to watch her cousin in silence from her seat.

"Was it something he took from these _shinobi_? Is that why they're after us?"

'_Interesting, she knew that Saki wasn't a man to be trusted, yet she didn't know about the connection between him and these Foot ninjas.'_

"No, he didn't take anything from them...they work for him," I clarified for them. Mya frowned at us and turned her head back towards the front.

I wondered what it was I had said to upset her. Maybe she knew more than we initially thought. "What's wrong with her?" I nodded at Mya.

Keiko opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Raph.

"Hang on, guys, here we go," the car took a sudden turn off from the road we were traveling on, and we found ourselves going west.

"Raph, what are you doing," I was looking back at the blue Mercedes that sped by, missing the turn-off completely, but the van took the turn. "Shell, Leo missed it, but those guys are still on our tails," I growled.

"Yeah, yeah... I got an idea... you got a watch on you?" The red-masked turtle asked urgently.

I was confused by the question, but answered anyway, "Yeah, but how's that gonna help, I didn't know that you could suddenly _stop time_."

He didn't react to my sarcasm and asked, "What time is it?"

"10:45..." I stared at my brother for a while, wondering if this was how they felt when I came up with my ideas and requested strange things. The red-clad turtle grinned.

"Great, we're...right...on...time," he said each word on count, and it only took me a second to realize what he was doing.

We reached a traffic light intersection within that millisecond, and Raph pulled on the steering causing the Audi to lurch sideways spinning, and then it came to a sudden stop at the lights.

The van that was chasing us however, swerved to avoid hitting us, and it crossed the lights just after it turned red; sending the other oncoming vehicles squealing across the pitch to avoid colliding with it.

Police sirens were immediately heard, and the unmistakable red and blue lights flashed across the scene as a police car took off behind the van that sped uncontrollably down the stretch.

We didn't even notice that the Benz was behind us until screeching tires were heard, and the vehicle pulled up alongside us.

"I love this car," Raph piped, smiling to himself.

Keiko's chest rapidly rose and fell as she breathed, and she sat wide-eyed, frozen to the seat.

Mya turned her face to Raphael slowly, whilst detaching her hands from the dashboard.

"Are you crazy, you almost got us killed," she hissed angrily.

"Hey, you're alive and we lost them, what more do you want?" Raph stated frankly. I believe he thought that it was the most natural thing in the world. He was looking for a 'thank you' instead of that.

"Raphael, what the hell is wrong with you?" another voice demanded from outside. All our heads snapped towards the other vehicle.

Leo had his window rolled down and was glaring at Raph. I shook my head. That turtle was never going to get the thanks he was owed.

"What? I lost them, didn't I?" His flippant remark earned nothing but an overheated look that could cause the meltdown of a nuclear reactor, and he waited calmly for Leonardo's reaction to the challenge, which in my case wasn't one at all if you think about it.

However, in our world, deliberately not acknowledging correction from your clan leader was a sign of disrespect, but not one that should warrant rebuttal because of the mere fact that it wasn't the same as disobedience - which was Raphael's primary quota. I could argue this case all night with my brothers, but I don't think an irritated master and or leader would agree with me. Leonardo was already at the tip of the iceberg as far as I could tell, thanks to Raph and more so Shredder's resurrection, so he would react in the least favorable manner in this situation. _Why, Raph, why?_

"We almost crashed into you, what you did was reckless!" Leo reprimanded the younger turtle sternly.

"Shell, Leo, chill," Raph retorted. "Why do you always have a stick up your ass?"

I glanced nervously at the small number of spectators that came out onto the streets to aid the few vehicles that were scattered haphazardly across the intersection. Two of them looked across at our vehicles and were slowly advancing towards us.

"Guys, knock it off, we gotta move."

Leo pressed his lips into a tight line and glanced at the people moving towards us. He rolled up his window, reversed in the street, and sped off in the opposite direction.

Raph snorted, rolled his window up, and pulled off behind the Benz. I sighed heavily and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Where are you taking us?" Keiko asked softly, her voice was almost a whisper.

"To somewhere safe," I replied instantly. Then after a brief moment of hesitation, I added, "Our home."

The words sounded strange coming from my mouth. It wasn't something that we had planned, but that was where we were headed at the moment. I wasn't sure how Master Splinter would react to this amount of guests in our home, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to be pleased. Raph had a permanent scowl scrawled on his face as he followed the other car.

Keiko regarded me thoughtfully before she nodded.

"You okay in the front there?" I asked studying the girl who had gone quiet again.

"I'm fine," she mumbled.

I looked at my brother, "Raph?" I wanted to distract him from his spat with Leo.

Although their rivalry had decreased over the years, sometimes it would rear its ugly head when we go out on missions like this. What causes it, I have no idea, but I want to believe that Raph gets some odd sense of satisfaction when Leo is ticked off at the end of it all.

Whilst Leo on the other hand, just likes to be in control; and when things change, it's like the world was been flipped over on its back and can't get back up.

"What?" Raph replied harshly.

I smirked. "After pulling that stunt back there, I'm pretty sure Mike's disappointed that he went along with Leo instead of you," I looked for his eyes in the rearview mirror.

I saw them squint as he smiled.

"Heh, that knuckle-head, serves him right," the elder chuckled, shaking his head.

"Serves him right? How so?"

"You'll find out when we get home," he replied smiling.

* * *

><p>(RAPHAEL)<p>

I was enjoying the feel of this car as I followed Leonardo home, but immediately felt depressed when I got off the open road and entered the dark tunnel. The tunnel went for half a mile before it terminated inside another section of our garage.

When we pulled up to park, Leo and the others were already climbing out of their car. He stood with his feet apart and folded his arms across his chest as soon as he saw me. He was still mad at me. I glared back at him, but it was a shame he couldn't see me through the tinted glass.

"He looks mad," Don pointed out from his seat in the back.

"Yeah, well he wouldn't be Leonardo if he wasn't," I smirked.

When we got out, the two girls from the other car rushed to embrace their respective sisters, Mya and Keiko.

Don and I walked over to Leo, Mike and April.

"Something wrong, Leonardo?" I asked sardonically. I hated it when he goes all righteous on me. It's like I'm not supposed to do anything wrong or anything against his pre-designed plans or whatever. Sometimes he acts as though I could read his mind or something, and do whatever he thinks is the right way to handle certain situations. Unfortunately I can't, so whatever I chose to do; would never sit right with him. He acts as if he's never made any mistakes in his life. I'd be glad to remind him of some of them.

The blue-masked ninja took a deep breath before speaking. "No."

_That's a shame, what are you thinking Fearless?_ I raised my eye ridge at him uncertain of his thoughts. "You sure, 'cause back there it looked like you had something to say to me about my driving."

"Don't tempt me," he said shortly.

"Guys, could you save it for later," Mikey interjected moving between us.

"I think we should head in, Master Splinter's probably worried," Donatello added looking at each of us.

"And we need to get the girls inside. We've got a lot of explaining to do," April noted on the side.

"Ehem," one of the girls cleared her throat to grab our attention. She was wearing a cream business suit with fine black piping, and had her arm laced in Mya's. She had the other arm wrapped tightly across her stomach area. "I don't mean to intrude on your little meeting over there, but now that we're here...wherever here is...what do _we _do now?"

Nicole looked a bit nervous, but stood strong probably fighting every nerve in her body just not to run. Her younger sister on the other hand, looked calm and deep in thought. She was wearing a white t-shirt with a 'blink 182' logo on it and a pair of navy blue slacks.

Their cousins Keiko and Ayame were looking around them with puzzled looks on their faces. Keiko was wearing a pantsuit as well, but it was grey with white pinstripes, and she wore a light blue shirt beneath the jacket. While her sister Ayame was dressed in a fuchsia spaghetti strap tank top, and black slacks.

They looked like a bunch of stuck up executives that just came home from some excruciatingly boring meeting, and two of them couldn't wait to rid themselves of their formal clothes. Who could blame them, why would you want to keep on restricting clothes like that?

"Is this your home?" Keiko asked focusing her eyes on us.

"Nope, just the garage, come on we'll take you in," Mikey supplied, and he led the way towards the entrance to the lair; excited for the new guests.

"What is this place?" Ayame asked gazing at the walls and snaking, moldy pipes that surrounded us.

"It's what we call home," I stated frankly. I wasn't in the mood for explaining our living conditions to these girls. April's friends or not, we saved their shells, we brought them to our home, end of story. Now all we gotta do is get rid of the Shredder, and send them on their way.

She flinched a bit and turned to April for assurance.

"Ignore him, Raphael's the resident grouch," April said narrowing her eyes at me. "These are my friends, Leonardo, Donatello and this one's Michelangelo," April pointed to each of my brothers.

Leo nodded, Donny waved and Mikey smirked. I just stared.

April regarded the four of us with an air of uncertainty, "Um... well I guess you guys know their names by now, but for the sake of formality, this is Ayame, her sister Keiko, Nicole and her sister Mya... Hamato clan, meet the Takahashi clan."

Ayame tilted her head to the left, "Hamato clan?"

"Yeah..._long_ story," Mikey whistled. Normally I would have smacked him upside the head, but I agreed with him. I didn't enjoy the 'how we became what we are' story any more than he did.

"What about those _shinobi_? Can they find us down here?" Keiko asked changing the topic to something that was more current.

"Shinobi?" Nicole repeated the word slowly.

"Ninjas, Nicole," Mya explained joining the conversation for the first time.

"I know what it means; I just want to know why they wanted the code."

"I think you guys should sit down," Donny gestured to the couch. He scanned the room for someone as the four young women sat and frowned when his eyes couldn't find the person he was looking for.

"Those ninjas that came after you tonight, they're called the Foot," Don began, "and they work for a man that likes to call himself the Shredder, like an underground name for a 'crime lord'. You see... that coded piece of paper you got from Oroku Saki, it's actually from the Shredder, they're both one and the same...and we believe he's up to something, and whatever it is, it has everything to do with that code."

Donny paused as if he was allowing the girls time to soak in everything, and then he went on. "His Foot ninja were spying on you and waiting for you to crack the code, so that in the event you didn't deliver the answer to him, he would just have to send in his ninjas to retrieve it...and that's why they attacked."

Nicole eyed Donny suspiciously, "And you know all this because?"

"Because of me, I told them everything. They were actually waiting outside for me," April said. "The Shredder is, how would you say, a long time enemy of ours, that's why I didn't want you to tell Oroku Saki what you found. I know what he's capable of."

Nicole laughed, "Just what I need, giant talking turtles telling us tales about _feet_ and _paper shredders_, what do we look like to you? I feel like I just fell through the looking glass and ended up in a twisted world, overthrown by the _Tortoise_ who wanted revenge on the _Hare_." She finished darkly.

The other three girls flinched, and Leonardo broke his silence. "This is not some kind of joke, you almost got yourself killed tonight and we saved you, so I'd suggest you just sit back and listen. It's best you know what you got yourselves into and what we're dealing with," Leo finished calmly. "And for the record, we're mutant _turtles; _nothing else."

I folded my arms and looked at my brother with admiration. He was actually threatening the girl, but in a subtle manner.

Nicole's eyes narrowed, "Fine, but we could've called the cops instead."

I started, "Why you little ungrateful...," but was cut off by another voice.

"You're such a bitch, they just saved our lives and you're here playing the skeptic," Mya snapped. "You know you're piece of work Nicole. They just save our necks, _literally_, and they're standing in the flesh, living and breathing before us and you doubt them? Heck, I'm probably as shocked as you are, but the truth is, they didn't have to step in our behalf. They only did it because April's their... friend. We wouldn't've been in this position if you hadn't taken that damned piece of paper from that man. We owe them our lives, and I think you owe them an apology." Mya stated glaring at her sister.

Nicole wasn't the slightest bit deterred by the younger, but she mumbled something that sounded like sorry to Donatello. Mya scowled, and to me it felt as if she still had a lot more to say to her elder sibling.

A moment of awkward silence passed by as everyone was lost for words, until Donny spoke up. "So um... speaking of codes, where is it?"

Keiko looked up, "It's gone. Nicole wiped the hard drive clean."

Donatello looked like he was about to have a stroke, "What?"

Mikey and I forced to keep our smiles hidden and Leonardo's face was set in stone.

"I guess that was wise to do, but where's the sheet of paper?" he asked Nicole in a worried tone.

"I have it," April said pulling the sheet from her pocket. "I grabbed it off the table as soon as the lights went out." She handed it to Don.

Don sighed in relief as he browsed over the sheet with his eyes. "It would have been nice to see how you cracked this code...this is wicked. I've never seen anything like this...but you said that it's gone, so I guess we'll have to start from scratch."

Donatello had obviously forgotten everyone in the room and was already unraveling the puzzle in that huge mind of his. Mikey rolled his eyes at him, and Keiko was watching him with curiosity.

"It's not gone... I wiped the hard drive clean, but only after I downloaded the program unto my USB...the one that came up right after we deciphered the code," Nicole said.

Then she pulled out an iPad that was tucked beneath her jacket in the waist of her belt. "I have the deciphering program on this... but the code is on the USB... I think one of you has it," she glanced at the four of us.

Mikey smiled sheepishly and pulled a small USB drive from his pocket. "See I told you it was safe," he handed it to Nicole.

She gave him a forced smile.

"Why did you do that?" Don asked.

Nicole still looked uncomfortable talking to us, but she made the effort. She explained to us about the program and how they managed to crack the code. I can't say I understood what she was talking about, but in the end I had to admit that this girl was not someone you'd want to underestimate. From what I gathered, she figured out that the code was written by their father, and that was the reason she removed it from his office computer and made it seem as though she had wiped it clean.

"My father apparently wanted it to remain a secret, so that's why it was written in a code he invented. I would have never thought that anyone would go to such ends just to get their hands on some prototype program... " Nicole explained letting her voice drop off at the end.

"A what?" I asked not catching the last word.

"A prototype program, it's some kind of program... but we didn't get chance to get it working... all it said was 'He, who is laid to rest, finds his piece.'" Keiko explained.

"Yeah, and piece as in _ e_," April spelt out the last word.

"Uh?" Mikey frowned.

I was beginning to get tired. "Look, I don't know about you guys, but all this talk about prototypes and programs is giving me a headache... you geniuses go figure out whatever it is Shredder's going all crazy about, and you'll catch me up later," I stated.

"Yeah, I'm with Raph," Mikey said folding his arms across his plastron.

"Alright, Don, you guys go ahead and figure that thing out, the rest of us will organize the rooms for the girls to sleep okay." Leo said.

"What about Splinter?" Mikey asked noticing that our father was yet to be seen.

Leo shook his head, "It's rather late, so I guess he's probably sleeping."

_Either sleeping or meditating and listening to us at the same time. Sensei never seems to miss much even when he's locked away in his room. I can't wait to see these women's reaction towards him. Tomorrow's gonna be an interesting day. _

April, Nicole and Keiko got up and followed Don to his computer, while Mya and Ayame followed Leo and I towards the rooms.

Mikey turned on the television and was in the process of launching one of his video games. I hope he realizes that that wasn't going to last too long, since I had already planned on claiming the couch for myself tonight.

Leo walked inside of his room and placed his katanas on his wall rack before turning to Ayame. "You and your sister could use this room I guess... there are clean sheets in the drawers, and if you need anything else just let us know," he said taking up a coupled of folded sheets from his bed.

His room was annoyingly clean.

"Thank you Leonardo-san, and thank you for saving our lives," Ayame replied.

"You're welcome, and as for Mya, you guys can have the other room next door," Leo led the way to Mikey's room, which was relatively clean for a change, but not as clean as Leo's.

We were still walking through wrappers on the floor.

"And this is...?" Mya turned to both of us for an answer.

"Michelangelo's room," I said with a laugh. "Don't worry, kid; it's not as bad as it was before."

She wrinkled her nose at the term, and Ayame tried to hide her amusement.

"How old are you anyway?" she asked eyeing me from head to toe.

"None of your business," I retorted.

Leo jabbed me in the side with his elbow. "What my brother here means is that he's twenty."

Mya and Ayame's eyebrows arched.

"Twenty?" they both said in unison.

"We're the same age," Ayame pointed out.

_No doubt._

"You're only two years older than me, so stop calling me _kid_, you sound like a senior citizen," Mya stated.

Leo chuckled, "He _is_ a senior citizen."

"Actually, I'm three years older than you, I'll be twenty-one soon,...and by the way, I can call you whatever I want," I stated smugly.

The girl folded her arms across her chest as if she was daring me. _What could you possibly do to me you little half-pint? _I laughed to myself.

"Now, a word of caution, see those things on those shelves over there," I pointed to the shelves that were packed with various action figures and comic books, all sealed inside of air-tight packages.

"Don't touch those or else my brother out there will turn into a psychotic killer, and I won't be able to save your asses... okay," I smiled at the girl with the curly hair.

"Sure... no problem. I've had to live with a neat freak that was on the verge of storing everything in plastic wrap down to the toilet seat, all my life," Mya responded casually.

I and Leo left the girls to themselves and we ventured towards the dojo.

"Thought you said that he'd be sleeping?" I asked my blue-masked brother.

He shrugged, "Yes, but I just got this feeling..." he left off at the end.

I knew what he was getting at. Master Splinter was in the dojo, and he had just come out of a long period of meditation. We knelt down before the wise _'ancient' _rodent.

Splinter pulled down on his whiskers and tilted his head to one side. "I see we have company... what happened to the 'let Mrs. Jones retrieve the document, and return to home safely with her' plan?"

_Uh? _Sometimes Master Splinter's play on humor catches me off guard. I couldn't tell whether he was being serious or not.

"Sorry, Sensei, April didn't have time to get it and get out, the Foot were already waiting there. They attacked the girls and we had no choice but to get them out of there, I didn't know where else to take them. April's place is too high risk, now that Oroku Saki knows that she's connected with them," Leonardo explained.

Splinter closed his eyes for a moment and then reopened them before he spoke. "Hmmm, I see. This is most unfortunate. Mrs. Jones cannot afford to lose another place at the hands of those ninjas again."

"We know, that's why they're here, but it won't be for long. I'm not sure I can stand so many females under the same roof with us four... April was okay, but five of them," I shuddered at the thought.

Images of pink walls and tidal waves of flowers flashed across my mind, as well as an image of my bike being stripped down to its basic parts just to be filled with dirt for kitchen gardens.

"Hell no." We have to get rid of Shredder and his clan once and for all. It was a matter of urgency.

Splinter and Leo were watching me as if I had lost it.

"What?"

"Nothing," Splinter replied shaking his head. "Tomorrow, I will meet your new friends. I am going to meditate some more and then I'll retire. Good night, my sons."

"Good night, Sensei," we quickly replied bowing.

* * *

><p><em>Stay tuned. R :-D<em>


	5. Hiding & Revealing

**The Oroku Saki Empire**

**Chapter 5: Hiding & Revealing**

* * *

><p><em>I do not own the characters that came out of the TMNT enterprise. <em>

* * *

><p>(NICOLE TAKAHASHI)<p>

I was looking over the humanoid turtle's shoulder, watching as he worked on the program that he uploaded unto his computer from my iPad. I shook my head in disbelief, trying to wake myself up from the dream that I thought I was in.

I had to constantly convince myself that it was no dream, and accept the fact that our apartment was stormed by sword wielding ninjas, who demanded that I hand over the coded program that my father created. Upon their attack, we were rescued by four mysterious creatures, or mutant turtles, that seemed to know a lot about what was happening, but at our disadvantage. Luckily for us, they were close friends of April.

Before the attack, I had managed to pull my files and programs of my dad's computer and store them on my USB and iPad that were inside the hidden draw just beneath the desk.

Why I did that; I'm not quite sure, but growing up in the corporate world, I've learned that anything confidential should remain that way, and a program hidden in a code that was invented by my father screamed confidentiality_._

Now, after being told a story straight out of a science fiction story, I snapped and incidentally insulted our would-be rescuers. The one in the red mask looked like he wanted to kill me, but stopped short when the one in blue spoke.

His gaze was level but unnerving, and his voice was smooth and calm. What he said to me however, sounded more like a threat than just a 'for your information' statement. I retaliated because I was angry. Why? Because I was forced from my home and brought to this strange place, with four strange beings who spoke as though everything was just 'normal'.

_Not normal. _

He was bald, green and stood about five feet, five inches, with a plastron and shell like that of a turtle. He wore an ensemble of elbow and knee pads, with a belt, along with twin swords crossed on his shell. The others were outfitted in a similar fashion, _naked_, except for the weapons they carried.

The one with the orange mask on the other hand, wore a black ninja espionage suit, and he looked ill at ease. I watched how April interacted with them as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

The turtles were not the only that ones I had ticked off. Mya was also offended, so I tried to appease her by apologizing to _one_ of the turtles, just the one that I had interrupted. He wore a purple mask and was called Donatello.

From what I gathered, he was the resident computer whiz, and he was explaining to Keiko and April what he was doing with the symbols, while 'tweaking' the decoding program.

My thoughts wandered off to my little sister. _I can't believe she called me a bitch._

"Nicole, what language is this?" an unfamiliar voice broke through my thoughts.

The purple-masked turtle was looking at me expectantly. His gaze was bright and full of curiosity, and he didn't show the slightest hint of resentment towards me.

_Had he forgiven me already? I wonder why he didn't get mad when I said those things to him._

"Hello, are you in there?" Keiko waved her hand in front of my face. Her concerned almond shaped eyes were locked on me.

"Yes, yes," I replied pushing her hand away. I looked down at the computer screen. "Language, what language?"

Donatello pointed to the symbols scrawled in the background behind the single English phrase.

"Those symbols, they're some kind of writing, do you recognize it?" he asked.

I looked over the writing but none of it made sense to me. "No, I don't know what it means," I said after a few minutes.

"Are you sure?" April asked. She seemed to be pressing me to search my memory for some clue, but my mind was blank.

"I'm sure," I asserted. I wasn't about to be called a liar.

"Mmm..." the turtle scratched his head.

It was amazing to watch how human-like they were, and yet they were different. They were clearly skilled.

"I guess we'll figure that out later, check this out though," he stated pulling up the program on the monitor once more and entering a new command.

The phrase disappeared and the strange writing in the background began changing and shifting until they formed straight black lines. Eventually, they all aligned themselves to form what looked like a grid.

There was one long line lying horizontal across, and shorter lines were lined up alongside one another vertically, all intersecting with the horizontal line. It wasn't exactly a perfect grid; in fact, it looked more like half of a lopsided tic-tac-toe box.

These vertical lines were not level with one another, and there were even smaller lines joined to them from one side.

"What is that?" Keiko asked staring at the strange image before us.

"And what does that have to do with 'He, who is laid to rest, finds his piece'?" April asked.

Donatello shrugged, but his eyes displayed active thoughts figuratively speaking. He was trying to 'connect the dots' as one would put it.

_Connect the dots._ I stared at the image trying to make out if it was a representation of something else. Like the lines drawn to represent constellations. They were also used as maps. I repeated the phrase in my mind again. 'He, who is laid to rest, finds his piece.'

_Finds his piece. Finds...his...piece. Piece as in a puzzle piece. Maps are used to find things, such as pieces..._

Everything flashed across my eyes at once and I said, "Finds his piece."

The three of them turned to look at me as if I had gone crazy.

"What?" Don asked sounding a little surprised.

"Finds his piece," I repeated. "It's like a constellation map...lines drawn to connect the dots, and they are basically used like maps," I explained triumphantly.

April and Keiko's eyes widened with revelation.

"That makes sense, why didn't I see it before, it's some kind of map," Donatello stated. He looked back at the image in amazement.

"A map to 'find his piece'?" Keiko said playing with the words in her mind.

"Yeah, I guess this is the map and it would show you to find the 'piece' or whatever that is," I looked over the odd grid map again and tried to determine what it was a map of.

"But, what about the: 'He, who is laid to rest' part?" April asked, bringing us all back to our once confused state.

I shook my head at the red-headed woman. "I have no clue..." I left off at the last part of the sentence when I remembered that our father was just 'laid to rest'. _He couldn't have meant that. There was no way he would bank something like this on his death. Or would he?_ I instantly hated the thought that came to mind.

That immediately set off the panic inside me and I started to feel my chest tighten. I wanted to get out of the room and away from everyone. Since the night he died, I have been feeling like I couldn't breathe, and my throat would lock up stifling me, wanting to take from this nightmare.

I never told anyone what was happening, and would pretend as though everything was fine. These anxiety attacks, or whatever they were, were not going to get the better of me. I had to be strong for Mya. I couldn't let her see me break because I was all she had now. Sure there was April, someone she looked up to when we were little, but I was her sister. I have to be strong - even if she didn't like me for it.

_I need to get out of here_.

"Uhm... Nicole, you okay?" Donatello asked.

I forced myself to inhale and studied the turtle for a moment before I found my answer. He had the same curious look on his face, but this time his eyes were full of concern.

"Yes, I'm just," I began but cut my words off with a sigh. "Do you think we could continue this tomorrow?"

Now April and Keiko looked worried. This was why I always retreated to my room whenever it came on. I knew that both of them would eventually pick up on my 'distress' since they knew me from childhood, but I was mostly shocked to find out that Donatello was able to notice it from the start.

"Sure, it's late and you're probably...exhausted," Don said looking at the time on the monitor. He looked as though he was trying to determine how exhausted he himself was.

"Nicole, are you sure you're okay?" Keiko asked.

_I'd be okay if everyone stopped asking me that._ I sighed. "I'm fine, it's been a very...interesting night," I said glancing at the mutant turtle.

He gave me an understanding smile as if he was used to humans reacting the way I did towards them. April also had a sympathetic but guilty smile on her face. She was probably one of them that gave them an earful.

"I'll show you guys where you're sleeping," April offered. "Good night, Donny," she told the turtle.

"Night," Donatello replied.

"Good night," Keiko nodded at the turtle before following April to the rooms. I remained until they were out of earshot.

He raised a hairless eyebrow at me. "Is there something wrong?" he asked while printing a copy of the map.

_Something wrong. _I almost laughed at the irony of the question but decided against it for better judgment. I shook my head, "No, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I didn't mean to sound so..."

"Skeptical?"

I opened my mouth to respond to him, but another word was provided by someone else.

"Rude?"

I turned around and saw the one with the orange mask. His arms were crossed over his chest and he had a smug grin on his face.

"No, I think the word you're looking for, Mike, is _ungrateful_." The one with the red mask was walking up to us alongside the turtle in blue.

_Sweet, they're ganging up on me. _I thought sarcastically.

"No, I think Mya got it right...I was a bitch," I said flatly, and each turtle gazed at me in surprise. Except for Raphael, he looked like he was trying to read me.

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for acting the way I did, it was just...too much for me to take in all at once. So, once again I'm sorry, and thank you for saving our lives," I breathed as though a weight was lifted off my chest - however slightly.

Michelangelo was the first to break into a smile, "No problem, dudette, it's in the job description."

"It's okay, we're a thick skinned bunch; couldn't be worse than April calling Raph an 'IT' to his face," Donatello offered a reassuring smile.

I gave them a weak smile in return.

Raphael grunted and mumbled something that sounded like _thanks_, and then he narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"We accept your apology," Leonardo stated solemnly. He seemed to take a lot of things a lot more serious than the others. Then he turned to Donatello, "So what'd you guys find out?"

Mikey and Raph's attention were also drawn to the _genius_ terrapin, and I moved back for them to get a better view. I couldn't stay anymore because the momentary distraction was over, and the tightness in my chest was returning.

"I'm going to bed now...good night," I said to the four hurriedly.

"G'night," Don said.

"'Night," the other three chimed distractedly. They were huddled over the map that their brother had printed, and he turned to explain to them what it was. I heard Raphael ask if he was sure that it was a map, Michelangelo complained that it didn't like any map he had ever seen, and Leonardo wanted to know where exactly the map was showing.

It was weird over hearing them. I practically ran to where I had seen April and Keiko wander off, and eventually came to a room where Mya was curled up under a sheet on a bed.

She let her black curls fall loosely about her head and it was splayed out on the pillow. She was fast asleep. I envied her ability to shut out the world before her and revel in a peaceful world of nothingness.

I climbed into the bed next to her and shut my eyes only to have images of my father play out before me like a giant slideshow. He was always frozen still and framed behind a glass that prevented me from reaching him. He was gone, forever. I sighed heavily and wrapped my arm around Mya waiting for whenever it was time to get up again.

We were already four hours into the new day, and I guessed that everyone would probably get up around lunch time. _I had this feeling that we were going to have many sleepless nights._

* * *

><p>(OROKU SAKI)<p>

"Master, the girls got away...those turtles were -"

The ninja's words were cut short when a blade flew at him and embedded itself in the wall, just a millimeter from his head. He involuntarily flinched and fought to keep his head straight. I decided _not_ to kill him the second before I flicked my wrist, which was when I remembered that he knew what had happened to the code.

The ninja hesitated before continuing, "They came in just before I could get the code from her."

I waved my hand before me to stop him, "The paper, where is it? You said that she had cracked the code, where is it now?"

I groaned inwardly when I saw the movement in his throat. He actually swallowed, or should I say gulped. He was scared for his life, and he should be.

"Master, forgive me, but they have it. The girl wiped the hard drive clean, but she downloaded a copy unto a USB. They got away with everything," he shook slightly.

I allowed a moment of silence to pass between us and moved back to my chair. He was still kneeling before me, and his head was lowered as he bowed.

"Is that all?" I asked rolling another blade in my hand.

"No, the code, when she solved it, it only said 'He, who is laid to rest, finds his peace."

Hearing those words snapped me out of my dark mood. "Do you mind saying that again?"

The ninja looked up at me with puzzled eyes. "Master?"

"Repeat what you just said," I said sternly gazing at the ninja with a new task in mind.

The ninja's eyes widened as if he mentally said 'Oh'. "He, who is laid to rest, finds his peace," he repeated the words slowly.

"Peace or piece?" I asked.

He was puzzled by my question, and I begrudgingly explained. "Peace as in a state of calm, harmony or piece as in a portion, which is it?"

"Forgive me, Master, it was indeed piece as in a portion," the ninja bowed to apologize.

_Good, I was right to believe that Takahashi Ichirou had the piece in his possession, and he also made things a lot easier for me. He left a clue written in that code._

"He, who is laid to rest, finds his piece. Foot ninja, you may have a second chance after all. Assemble a team; get me Professor Takahashi Ichirou, now."

The ninja bowed anxiously and stood up. "Yes, Master Saki," then he stopped, hesitating to move. "But Master, the Professor is dead, what do you mean by get him for you?"

I smiled at him. "Yes, I know. Bring him here," I instructed giving him a knowing look.

The ninja forced back a gasp when he understood what I meant, and turned to head out of the room. I wanted Takahashi's body here. That way I will get what I want, and perhaps get my revenge on his daughters. I needed the _piece_ to reign over this world, and finally put those mutants in their graves where they belong. The Shredder will rise again.

* * *

><p>(MASTER SPLINTER)<p>

_Ame futte ji katamaru. After the rain, earth hardens. _I repeated these words inside of my head as I looked over at my son Leonardo; worried about his current state of mind. Ever since he and his brothers got up this morning, I found myself studying their various moods.

When I rose from my bed this morning at 6:30 am, I found Raphael snoring on the couch, dead to my presence, and Leonardo had taken up residency in the dojo. Leonardo and Michelangelo had given up their rooms to the four girls, and Raphael gave his to April.

I believe the four of them went to bed around five so I waited for them to get up on their own. They got up at around 11:00 am and immediately went into their daily morning routines.

Michelangelo was preparing breakfast for an 'army', while Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello huddled over some large sheet of paper, and other things Donatello had on his computer screen.

Although they were each focused on something, I couldn't help but sense their troubled spirits from across the room. Leonardo was the most tense. Normally, he would stand with the posture and calmness of a skilled warrior, but now he looked as though he was expecting some unseen force to strike.

Raphael playfully poked him in the arm when Donatello said something to them that they didn't quite understand, and his brother responded with a shrug smiling. No one could truly tell when Leonardo was disturbed unless he openly showed it. Which he would, - whenever he is provoked enough.

Raphael was also disturbed, but it had more to do with our present company that occupied the rooms in our lair, than the return of the Shredder. _That would soon change. _

Donatello and Michelangelo however, were both comfortable in our home at the moment. They were also both afraid and anxious to face the Shredder again, as am I.

_As am I, my sons. _I thought of telling them that later. I was most concerned about Leonardo. His encounters with the Shredder have had significant impacts on his personality; sometimes positive, and sometimes negative.

I wondered how it will be this time, though I should not. I knew that he has grown a great deal, and I know that this time his spirit will be much harder to break. I have faith in them, and I hope that they will use their faith to stand strong against what's coming next.

_Ame futte ji katamaru. After a storm, things will stand stronger and on more solid ground than they did before. _

"Master Splinter!" Donatello's voice broke through my thoughts. The purple masked turtle turned to look at me.

"Donatello," I said to the turtle, acknowledging my name.

"Sorry, Sensei. I was just thinking out loud, but could you come here and have a look at this?" he asked.

I willingly complied to his request in spite of my inadequacies with the technology, and moved towards them.

Donatello handed the map sized paper to his brothers and typed something on the keyboard, "I was thinking," he began anxiously, "Maybe Master Splinter may have seen these symbols somewhere before." He pointed at something on the computer that had an arrangement of characters, and English words that read 'He, who is laid to rest, has found his piece.'

"I know Master Splinter is ol- uhm - I mean very wise an' all, but don't you think you're being a bit...presumptuous?" Raphael asked glancing at me sheepishly.

I smiled at him, not feeling the bit offended. I am old, and if I said otherwise, then I may as well be called a liar.

"Raph," Donatello protested.

"Sensei?" Leonardo brown eyes were awaiting my response. He was always eager to hear what I had to say.

I looked back at the characters and sighed. They were indeed familiar. A few of them matched the writings from the Nexus, and they were also used in the portal spell. These, however, were a more formal form of script.

"Well?" Raphael asked.

"Yes, they are familiar, and they should be to you as well." I stated.

The three turtles gave me an odd look. "They should?" Leonardo asked puzzled.

"They are?" Raphael squinted at the characters trying to see if he could remember them.

Donatello's brows furrowed, then his eyes widened with recognition. "Battle Nexus!" he announced in surprise.

I smiled, seeing the recognition dawn upon their green faces.

"Did I hear someone mention me?" Michelangelo asked walking towards us holding a tray of pancakes.

"No, Mikey, these symbols, they're from the Nexus dimension," Donatello explained.

Michelangelo rushed forward and leaned towards the screen. "Whoa, really. How'd you figure that?" he asked excitedly.

"Master Splinter recognized them," Leonardo explained, and then his eyes narrowed in thought.

The orange-masked ninja looked back at me and his eye ridge arched. "Sensei, really?"

"Yes, my son," I answered, turning to face him.

"I don't understand; why didn't we recognize it?" Raphael asked.

"Because these are from a different time," I explained, "these symbols are formal, whereas what you're accustomed to is more of an informal style - broken down for the sake of simplicity."

"Do you guys know what this means?" Donatello said anxiously.

"No, Don, what does it mean?" Raphael asked mockingly.

"It means that whatever reason the Shredder has to get his hands on this thing has to do with the Battle Nexus Tournament. Wasn't he a champion once?" Donatello turned to look at me.

I nodded vaguely since Donatello may have been referring to something he saw during their Nexus Tournament. "That depends on which Shredder you are referring to. The statue in the Pavilion of Past Champions is a representation of the original Oroku Saki wearing his _tatami yoroi - t_he armor of the Ninja Tribunal."

"Wait, you mean the guy who became the demon Shredder," Raphael stiffened. "This is the Utrom Shredder we're dealing with, not the 'Demon Shredder'."

"Yeah, and it's not like he'd be interested in some outer dimension game or his alter-ego for that matter," Michelangelo stated.

"No, but it makes sense. That Utrom became Oroku Saki for a reason, and it could be possible that he's gonna use his alter-ego for something worse." Donatello's eyes dropped to the map that was in Raphael's hands. "I think this map is the key to what he wants to find. We need to keep him from getting his hands on whatever it leads to. Looks like Professor Takahashi wanted to keep him from finding it too."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why Takahashi used these symbols in this program, I mean what could possibly be his connection with Battle Nexus?" Leonardo asked.

My attention was drawn to the hall where April emerged. She was followed by four younger females, three of whom looked like they required more sleep.

"I think you might want to ask the young women about that. Maybe they can shed some light on their connection to the Nexus," I directed at Leonardo.

He raised an eye ridge at me questionably and his attention was pulled away shortly by April's voice.

"Good morning, guys," she said in a rather upbeat tone. My sons responded in a similar manner, however partial.

"Good morning, April," I bowed at her to show respect as she walked towards us. "Ladies, I'd like you to meet Master Splinter," she introduced me to the girls as they joined our semi-circle.

The four women blinked and nodded as bravely as they could manage, greeting me with good morning's. I sensed their fear, and immediately noticed the similarity of accents shared between two of the girls and me.

"Master Splinter, this is Keiko, Ayame, Nicole and Mya," April continued pointing at each human.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you all. I do hope that you all had a restful night." Ayame and Keiko also recognized my own accent and looked at me with wonder in their eyes.

"Yes, and thank you," Ayame bowed nervously, and she was followed by her sister.

"We appreciate your doing this, and it is nice to meet you as well," Keiko said kindly.

Nicole hesitated, "Thanks for letting us stay here." She wore a guilty look on her face and looked down at her feet, anxious to get away from my gaze.

Mya was a different story altogether. She was alert and looked at me with curiosity. "Master Splinter, wow, I guess we owe you and your sons our lives. It's nice to meet you," she stated boldly, trying to cover whatever bias she held against rats in particular.

April and the guys smirked, and her relatives gave her a funny look. I smiled warmly at the 'child', amused by her politeness. Leonardo looked at me and shrugged. He too noticed her charade for what it was.

"Hold up, why aren't you guys freaking out or something?" Raphael suddenly asked.

"Yeah," Michelangelo added sounding slightly disappointed.

I was wondering the same thing when I saw a mischievous smile cross April's face. She had warned them.

"The wonders of camera phones." April waved the device in front of us. "As soon as they woke up I pulled them aside and told them about you. I didn't want a repeat of what happened with me multiplied by four," she scrunched up her face. "I ended up explaining everything to them...I'm sorry," she apologized quickly.

I held up my hand, "No, do not be sorry. I am glad you did that." I was grateful for her consideration.

"Thanks, Ape," Raph grumbled sarcastically. April smiled back at him in return, finding humor in teasing the terrapin.

"So anything new, Don?" April tilted her chin up in the direction of the computer.

"Yeah, as it turns out some of these characters are from the Nexus dimension," Donatello explained. "Master Splinter recognized them."

"Really," April's brows arched.

"Really," I told her, and allowed Donatello to share his news with the five of them. I asked if they knew anything about the Battle Nexus, but none of them had ever heard of the word. Soon after I left them and headed towards the kitchen.

"So, who's up for pancakes?" Michelangelo asked, making that the last thing I heard before entering the kitchen.

I pulled out two cups, and placed water on the stove to boil. "Is something bothering you, Leonardo?" I asked as soon as I sensed his presence behind me.

He breathed heavily and shook his head, "Sensei, do you think we could ever truly win?" He moved next to me and took the cups from my hands placing them on the table. It was an old Japanese custom for the younger ones in the family to serve their elders. A tradition my sons held fast to.

"Truly win what, my son?" I already knew what he was talking about, but I wanted to give him the chance to speak his thoughts.

His shoulders sagged as he sat down beside me at the table. "Against the Shredder I mean."

"Hmm, why do you wish to win?"

He frowned and clenched his fists in frustration. "You know what I mean, it seems like every time we defeat him, he comes back and it's as if we never accomplished anything in the first place," he said angrily.

I did not respond to that at that moment, and Leonardo's eyes searched mine for an answer. "Sensei, is there any way for it to just end? I am so tired of the repetition."

"Leonardo, I do not understand how you can see _defeating _the Shredder as something you never accomplished," I pointed out.

He inhaled and his brows furrowed. "I, I said it seems as..."

"As _if_," I finished his statement for him. "_If_ is the defining word there my son. It refers to a probability, nothing that is set in stone. You should not let the return of the enemy cause you to doubt yourself or your brothers' efforts, it only gives him the advantage. As for repetition, as a great man once said, 'if you lose the spirit of repetition, your practice will become quite difficult'. Do you understand what I am saying to you?"

The blue masked ninja's eyes regarded me with understanding. "I think so, so you're saying, the more we defeat the Shredder, the better we'll get at defeating him the next time around?"

I almost chuckled, "No, if you lose the spirit of repetition when it comes to everything, even when it comes to facing your enemies time and time again, you'd eventually get tired and want to quit. Then what you four are trying to achieve would eventually fall apart. It would become even more difficult to face new ones and defeat them."

Leonardo nodded and smiled at me. "Don't quit, keep faith."

"Exactly," I patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "Now, how about some tea."

The turtle nodded and rose to brew the tea. After a few minutes, a new person entered the area along with Michelangelo.

"Hey, we're not interrupting anything are we?" Michelangelo asked bounding towards the sink.

"No, we're just having some tea. You're free to join us if you like," I invited him and Ayame to sit. She was carrying three empty plates, and moved to rest it inside of the sink, while Michelangelo was holding an empty tray.

Her back was to us and I saw the distinct image of a large dragon's head tattooed on her left shoulder showing above the line of the top she was wearing. Why humans modify their skin with markings such as those, I would never understand.

Leonardo gazed at it and his eyes suddenly averted when she turned away from the sink. "I was just helping him clear up," she hesitated and looked at Michelangelo for reassurance.

"It's okay dudette, I could handle this," he said refilling the tray with pancakes. "Casey just showed up, and between him and Raph, that's like feeding all the lions in the zoo. I've never seen food disappear that fast," Michelangelo laughed. "I'm going back out there to feed the hungry masses," he said leaving the young woman in the kitchen with us, and her face grew pink with awkwardness.

"Please sit with us, Miss Takahashi," I motioned for her to sit with me.

She slowly moved to the chair and sat down. "_Would you like to have some tea_?" I asked her in Japanese, hoping that she would feel more comfortable with the familiar gesture.

"_Hai, domo arigatogozaimashita_," she replied opening her eyes in wonder.

"I can see you have many questions to ask us?" I stated.

"Yes, I do not mean to pry, but after all I have heard; I was just curious...how is it you survived down here all these years, remaining unknown, doing what you do?"

Shaking his head, Leonardo placed some more tea on the table, and served us the tea. "I think, we've got Master Splinter to thank for that," he told her nonchalantly.

I smiled at that and allowed my humility to wash over, "No, everything does not rest on me. My sons play a bigger role in this unit than they are aware of."

"I see," she looked back and forth between me and Leonardo, "It must have been really hard, in the beginning I mean. Not knowing much about the human world, forced to be in hiding with four young ones. It is amazing that you all have...created _all_ this." She waved her hands around, clearly astounded.

Leonardo looked at her trying to hide his amusement, and I smiled at the girl who was now coming out of her 'shell'.

"Yes, it was a disorienting experience, but I am glad that it happened that way. As for our home, my sons have everything to do with that."

"Yes, but you raised us and taught us everything we know," Leonardo interjected.

The woman's brow arched some more, and she turned to Leonardo. "April-san said that you saved her life, and that you fight crime, why?"

"Because we have the ability to," Leonardo stated simply, "If you're in a position where you can do something about a situation, help even, would you do it?"

Without missing a beat she answered, "Yes." There was a hint of contempt in her voice and her eyes lowered to her cup trying to hide the sadness in them. Then she looked up again with a steady gaze, "Sometimes men get so caught up in their own worlds that they turn a blind eye to what is happening around them, it is just amazing that you risk your lives to protect those who could destroy you if they even knew you existed."

"We do not judge all by a few," I told her, "We help because we can."

"And Oroku Saki, how did you get mixed up with a man like that?"

I saw Leonardo's jaw tighten slightly when she brought up the topic, "It's complicated. We crossed paths once when my brothers and I tried to stop his ninjas from stealing a sword. I guess he never let us off the hook for it." He shrugged with a smirk.

Ayame's brows furrowed. "Huh...and I believe that that is only a _tiny_ _part_ of the story," she pointed out casually.

Leonardo looked back at her in surprise. "Uh-yeah, but that's a story for another day, for now we need to focus on what he wants with your Uncle's program and that map," he quickly changed the topic on her.

"I am sorry for bringing it up, if I had known that it bothered you so much to talk about him, then I would not have asked so many questions," she said taking a sip of the tea in her cup.

That was when I realized that Ayame Takahashi had an excellent perception when it came to reading people. She could not be fooled by my 'eldest' son's seemingly calm disposition. She read him as easily as I could.

_Interesting._

"It's okay, it doesn't bother me," Leonardo stated frowning over his cup.

"I presume that you are in college right?" I asked trying to get the twenty-one year old into another frame of mind.

"Yes," she beamed proudly.

"What are you studying?" Leonardo asked, relieved by the switch in topic and focus.

"Psychology and Anthropology; both majors."

_That explains a lot, but the way she was able to read Leonardo was remarkable. _

"No wonder," the blue-masked turtle mumbled, not feeling comfortable with her anymore.

I tried to hide my smile as I watched him mentally recede into his guarded state of mind. _No matter how much you try to hide my son, I will always see._

Ayame smiled apologetically, "I am not that bad, _kame_, and I have a long way to go before I'm considered a true psychologist. You do not need to worry. I prefer to cook over all else."

The young woman was quite honest, yet I couldn't fit the tattoo with her character. She seemed gentle in her petite frame, and had the deepest dimples I've ever seen in anyone, set on the cheeks of her heart shaped face. My son also looked puzzled by the woman.

"I didn't think you were the type," Leonardo spoke his mind and regretted the statement when she glanced at him a bit surprised.

"The type to do what?"

He hesitated under her gaze a bit before answering. "Well, at first glance you look just like a regular girl to me - really quiet, shy, into books and stuff like that, and you're in college so, why not. The profile fits-"

"But?"

"But, then when you turn around, you've got this dragon tattooed across your back...and it just throws off the whole..."

"Good girl image?" Ayame finished for him.

"Yes," he said cautiously. "They say to never judge a book by its cover, and that's what I thought when I saw the tattoo. I thought that maybe I had you all wrong, that is, until now. Now I'm confused."

"Over a tattoo?" Ayame couldn't help but to laugh.

"My dear, you must understand, in this world we live in, tattoos have more meaning than just some simple modification of the skin. Certain gangs are identified by their markings. There's one in particular that uses the dragon. They call themselves the Purple Dragons, and like the Foot, we have had our fair share of encounters with them," I explained to the young human.

She regarded me thoughtfully before nodding, "I see. I understand why it must make you all feel uncomfortable. It's like bringing the enemy into your house."

"Well I wouldn't put it that way," Leonardo said quickly. "It doesn't matter who you are or who you're affiliated with. We will help you regardless."

"So, is there a story behind yours? " I wasted no time in asking.

She sighed heavily, "Yes, but I have never heard of this _Purple Dragon_ gang. The tattoo is a reminder of something I did that was _very, very_ stupid. I was sixteen when I got it, and at the end of it all I ended up spending three months in the hospital and a year in boarding school all the way down in Australia. Not one of my proudest moments..." She looked down and narrowed her eyes frowning.

I saw her berating herself for whatever mistake she had made in the past within her mind.

I laid my hand on hers to assure her, "You do not need to tell us if you do not wish to dig up past memories. You've clearly faced your past, and got through it to become a stronger person. Mistakes are made so that you can learn from them, and grow. You should be glad of who you are today."

She looked up and smiled, "I am, but sometimes I wish I could have done something differently."

"Don't we all," Leonardo stated.

The two young ones looked at each other for a moment as if some sort of understanding passed between them. Then the girl opened her mouth to say something when Keiko came into the kitchen.

"We figured out what the map leads to," she announced excitedly.

Our heads snapped in her direction, "Really, so what does it lead to?" Leonardo asked.

"Well, we're not quite sure yet, but _half-pint_ says that we need to go back to their apartment to get the real map and overlay the two," Raphael supplied walking in behind Keiko.

"_Half-pint?_" Ayame asked a bit puzzled.

"He means Mya, I told him that it was worse than calling her _kid_," her sister explained.

"The _real_ map is at the apartment?" the 'elder' turtle asked shifting uneasily out of his seat.

"Yep, she said that it's supposed to be some large portrait in their dad's office. It's hand painted so we need to get that one so the dimensions could match," Raph said.

"But the apartment was being watched by the Shredder, isn't there another way to use this map? I mean we'd be literally handing ourselves over to the Foot if we attempt to retrieve some painting." Leonardo stated pointedly.

It was then I voiced my opinion. "I agree; there has to be another way." I didn't want them putting themselves in any unnecessary risks.

"Shell, you think I don't know, but those _braniacs_ out there think that that's what they need. The painting," Raph complained.

"What if we got someone else to get it for us?" Ayame suggested.

"Like whom?" the red masked ninja asked.

"I do not know, someone neutral, someone from the building," she shrugged.

"I don't think so," Leonardo countered. "We can't put some random person at risk for our sakes. Those ninjas will be watching. I'm sure of it. They'll notice someone lifting a painting out of the apartment. It'll only raise their suspicions"

"In broad daylight?" Keiko asked. "You think they'd be there during the day?"

"Yes, trust me, we know firsthand," Raphael offered.

"Maybe there is another way for you all to get that painting," I rose from my chair. "Come, I will talk to Donatello," I strode out of the kitchen and headed for where my purple masked son was.

_I did not want them to go up there just to retrieve a map. Most of all, I did not want them to fall into the Shredder's hands, but he will not rest until he has his revenge on my family; and so he must be stopped. _I sighed. _The irony of it all was that this map may be the key to stopping the Shredder's plans. _

* * *

><p><em>Let me know what you think, or what you wish to see etc. <em>

_Thanks for reading!_

_(As for the armor that Shredder wears, I'm not sure which one was the correct Japanese term. There were three forms.)_


	6. Restrictions & Disturbances

**The Oroku Saki Empire**

**Chapter 6: Restrictions & Disturbances**

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><p><em>"Each time I write, I write to challenge myself; I make mistakes only to learn from them. Improvement is my goal. I aim to intrigue and create mystery, to entice and to be bold, even with the most subtle instances. I strive to learn."<em>

_All TMNT characters were created by...let's just say not me. :-)_

_Thanks for reading, subscribing & reviewing guys. It goes a long way. _

* * *

><p>(DONATELLO)<p>

It was already Saturday, close to noon, and I was ritually sitting at my desk; in front of the most complex program that I have ever seen. Absolutely astounding; given the fact that it embodied a challenge – the kind that I'm most naturally attuned to. When I tried to run it, it generated another set of embedded programs that laid out a map to something that one of our most hated enemies wanted to get his hands on.

I couldn't describe the level of anxiety I was feeling after hearing about the Shredder's return, but it was a lot more than I had ever experienced in my entire life. It vacuumed every tiny piece of serenity I possessed up to this point, sending me into a pivotal ride of edginess. We've had too many close calls with him.

I was trying to figure out where exactly on earth this map was supposed to represent when Mya, after staring at the thing for almost sixty seconds, snapped her fingers over it and said that it looked like a base sketch of some painting.

"Are you sure?" I still couldn't believe it, even after she had tried to convince us that the true image hung over the door inside of her late father's study. It also meant that we had to return to the apartment to get it. _Very tricky,_ I mused, turning around to look at the adolescent human.

"Yep, no doubting that," she replied confidently.

"Well then, I suppose we could get a copy of the painting online. Who's the artist?" I asked, thinking that we'd just found our solution to our map problem.

The human girl gave me a disappointed look and shook her head. "You wouldn't find a copy of it anywhere," she explained slowly, and Raph took up the opportunity to beg to differ.

"What are you talking about? It's the internet for crying out loud," Raphael said in the most obvious manner. "I'm sure Don can pull up a copy of some lame, old painting if he wanted to," the turtle folded his arms across her plastron smugly. He didn't need to say anything about his faith in me since his mannerism spoke volumes.

"It's not just some _lame, old painting_, it was my mother's," Mya corrected him. "She painted it for our father years ago before we were born. That's why you wouldn't find a copy of it anywhere on this planet."

I smirked when I saw my red-masked brother's face blanch and he quickly shrugged his awkwardness off. "Well, my bad. You should have said that in the first place, _kid_," Raph added the address with emphasis to annoy the teen.

The girl scoffed, "It's Mya - My-ah. Say it with me," she challenged the turtle, who was more or less at the same eye level with her.

Raph laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I was thinking of changing it to _half-pint_ instead," he said mischievously.

I didn't quite understand the amusement he found in teasing her, but I guessed that out of all the girls in this lair, she was the one that his blood took. It was similar to the way he and Leo behaved with one another, as well as how he and Casey started out, always throwing smart comments at each other for the sake of fun. However, Mya didn't seem to catch on, and her reaction was just fueling the turtle's amusement. Mike and Casey looked entertained by the exchange and the rest of us just thought that it was interesting to witness.

The girl glared at him and April suddenly stepped in to move her aside from the group. "You guys figure out how you're gonna get that painting," she said, pushing Mya towards the living room area by her shoulders. "We'll be right over here if you need us," she shot a warning glance at Raphael, and the ninja smirked in response.

"If you wanted a nickname for her, you could've used Mys. That's what we call her," Nicole suggested.

"Mys?" Raph frowned over the sound of the word, "No, that sounds too close to mice. I like half-pint."

"Yeah, and Master Splinter might think we're calling him, _Mice_," Mikey cracked.

"Half-pint is worse; not to mention the wrong description for her," Keiko interjected as a matter of fact.

I rolled my eyes at their ridiculous banter and brought their focus back to brainstorming, "Yeah, so how are we gonna get that painting. I don't suppose the Foot have given up their search for us as yet, for all we know they could still be at the apartment."

"You are considering going back in there to get it then? Is that safe?" Keiko asked.

"No, not safe, but if that's what it comes to – then yeah," Mikey answered, flipping the map over in his hands nonchalantly.

"Slow down, Mike, we're not going anywhere 'till we pass this by Leo and Splinter first," Raph stated.

_This coming from Raph's mouth, highly uncharacteristic, but he had a point. This team wasn't setting a foot anywhere unless Leo was okay with it. Most of the time, anyway. _

"Yeah, I'm with Raph," I agreed with my slightly older brother.

Mikey frowned. "Well if you're looking for them, they're in the kitchen with Ayame drinking tea," he stated disapprovingly. My brother held a strong sense of abhorrence for the substance, but never complained in front of Master Splinter whenever he served it to us out of old custom.

"I'm on it," Raph turned to head for the kitchen and Keiko hurriedly followed behind.

"Wait up, I am coming with you," she had to jog to meet up with him.

I pulled the map from Mike and studied the lines more closely. There was a circled star, indicating the location of something, "You wouldn't happen to know where exactly the painting shows, would you?" I asked Nicole.

She looked back at me thoughtfully and said, "There are many things my father did and didn't do, Donatello. He did tell us that our mom painted it, but he never said _where_ exactly. If it helps, it's a painting of a section of a docking area from above. He said that mom painted it for him by memory when he took her out on their fourth date."

"By memory? That's amazing, but where specifically did he take her?" I questioned.

"Actually, when we were little, that was before our mother died, we always assumed that it was just some painting they got at Mr. O'Neil's antique store. Mom had a collection of antiques from there, but when she died, that was the first time our father opened up about the origins of the painting. He said that her took out for a ride in a chopper to show her around, but when we asked him where he had taken her, he just - he just shut down completely," Nicole looked down at her feet with confused eyes.

"I'm sorry - " I began feeling sympathetic towards the nineteen year old, but she waved me off instead.

"It's okay, we've had years to adjust," she replied with a weak smile. "Hey, maybe you could run a search on all docks to see if this outline matches, that way you wouldn't have to go back to the apartment," she suggested hopefully.

"I guess, but that might take quite a while, and you said that it's just a section, that means it could have many close matches depending on the designers," I explained grimly, wishing that it was that simple. A search like that could possibly take hours or days even.

"So we just may have to go back there for the painting," Mikey propped himself against the back of the largest computer monitor and peered into the screen curiously.

"What if you send someone up to get it for you? Like me; for instance. I could wear a disguise or something," Casey suggested. The human was eager to help after returning from his own hunt for a particular purple dragon that chose the wrong senior citizen to rob. He was indirectly helping out Angel's grandmother while we were being chased by Foot ninjas.

"Too risky, they'd know something was up," I countered.

"Well, whatever the plan is, we better make up our minds fast, 'cause the Shredder is not a very patient man...er Utrom," Mikey stated frankly.

I hated to admit it but my brother was right. If the Shredder found another way to get what he wanted, then we had a limited amount of time to prevent him from getting the item.

I had a gut feeling that whatever this 'piece' was, it was connected to April's shop as well as the Battle Nexus. If that's true, then I bet it was something that worked like that puzzle box that sent us to that other world the last time we messed around with one of April's antiques. Everything was finally fitting together. Or I could be wrong.

"Donatello," my name rang through my thoughts, causing me to spin around to see Master Splinter and the others walking towards us from the direction of the kitchen.

"Sensei?" I asked noting the worried tone in his voice.

"Please tell me you're not thinking about going back into that building for this painting," he asked, coming to stand at my side.

"Well, we don't have to. We could always run a search, which could take a long while; but if time is a factor, we'd have to go in and get it. It's the only way to figure out where the map leads to," I explained quickly, observing his expressions.

Master Splinter held me with a pensive gaze and ran his fingers over a whisker, "Run the search first, and if that fails, you may try to get the painting." He said the words with a sense of finality to them, and then he addressed all of us. "It makes no sense to risk your lives when there are alternatives. I do not think time is against you because the Shredder clearly needed help to translate the code, and you have taken that opportunity away from him," he glanced at Nicole and Keiko with the last words.

We nodded to show that we understood him fully, and he sighed in relief. Whatever had set him off was really bothering him. Normally he'd let us run with our own plans of action and not say much about it until afterwards. This time however, he behaved as if we were still teenagers, and it made me look at him quizzically.

"What is on your mind, Donatello?" he asked looking at me with knowing eyes.

I ducked my head slightly, "Nothing really, I'm just - thinking that maybe you're right, Sensei." Mikey shot me a look from behind him that meant 'nice save', and I smirked back at him.

Splinter's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but his face relaxed when he let it go. "Hmm…very well then. I am going to the dojo; I expect to see you and your brothers there within the next hour. I think you could ask Mrs. Jones if she would be willing to keep an eye on your computer while you're running your search," he suggested.

_Talk about pressure… _"Sure thing, Sensei," I bowed at him, and he returned the gesture, turning to retreat to the dojo.

"That went well," Mikey commented dryly. He sounded a little disappointed that he was missing out on some action.

"Can it, Mike," The red masked terrapin said, nudging the _younger_ turtle in the arm.

My eyes landed on the _eldest_ of us who was standing with his arms folded, feet rigid, and brown eyes guarded. "What's going on, Leo? You've been really quiet, bro," the question spilled from my mouth unconsciously before I could retract the error.

He blinked once and his brows furrowed, "Nothing's going on, Don," he stated simply; clearly getting the grasp of what I was referring to: his mood.

_I've known you all my life, and you seriously expect me to believe that. Even Michelangelo knows that a quiet 'Leo' is a troubled 'Leo.' _I raised my eye ridge at him. "If you say so," I told him calmly. He, in turn, shot me a condescending look that meant: 'drop it,' and I had no other option but to respect his plea.

"Yeah right, Leo," Raph scoffed, rolling his eyes at the blue-masked turtle, and turned to walk away from our reserved sibling, "Casey, you coming', we've got a ton of work to do on the bikes," he called after the human.

Casey glanced between Leo and I hesitantly before following Raphael. "Yeah, I'm right behind ya," he left our tension-filled vicinity with the red-masked turtle.

"Hey!" Mikey suddenly quipped, changing the tone of the air, "We need to get April's van back. I'm sure it's impounded by now."

"Don't worry about it, Mike, we'll deal with that after all this blows over," Leo informed him, rapping his shoulder lightly. "In the mean time we'll just do as Master Splinter says, Don?" He focused his attention on me.

"I'm on it, bro," I offered him a smile. _I guess we'll hear what's on your mind later_.

"I'll help you narrow down the search," Nicole volunteered, "maybe I could identify the docking area from the painting on the satellite images," she pulled up the spare chair that we were using before and sat down next to me with the determination of an expert.

"That'd be great," I told her, starting up a search as Keiko joined us.

Leonardo signaled for Mikey to move away from the computer that he was dangerously leaning on; right before I could smart him on the arm for doing it, and then the comical turtle smiled ruefully, stepping back.

"Mike, you wanna warm up before practice?" the blue-masked turtle invited the other to join him.

"Sure, why not?" Mikey took up the invitation willingly, and they left me with the twins and Nicole to scan the shores of New York.

I had a feeling that this was going to be a very long day.

* * *

><p>(OROKU SAKI)<p>

At precisely 2 am, I had completed my routine katas when a soldier came running into my dojo. He came to a stop three feet away from me and dropped to his knees breathing anxiously. "Master, we have brought the body for you. What should we do now?" His eyes were still lowered to the mahogany floors.

"I have already given orders to the others in the lab. Take his body to them. They will know what to do," I told him.

With a quick bow, he rose and exited the dojo. _At least that went smoothly; maybe it's true what they say about Sundays. How does it go again, Sunday is the day off from all work, the other Sabbath_? I mused over these theories in my head slightly amused.

I was a little surprised that I didn't hear anything about the turtles and their interferences. I haven't even heard a word about them hanging around the building in West Central Park. I left my Foot-Tech ninjas on watch just in case one of them showed up. _This would be a defining moment for them, no meddling within a 24 hour period. They were planning their next move for when they have to face me, and I cannot wait for it_.

_This time all of my enemies will die_.

I moved back to my sword rack and gently laid the weapon on it. I watched the metal gleam under the blue light awaiting its moment of christening. I plan on bathing it with the blood of the turtles, specifically one in particular. The one called Leonardo, but first I must get that which the late Takahashi Ichirou had hidden from the world and from me.

The man was clever enough to hide it and not reveal any of it to anyone. I'm sure his brother Jirou had the same thing in mind, but the mistake Ichirou made was to leave clues behind with his two precious little girls. They reminded me so much of Karai. Full of potential, but limited by human emotions. A flaw so engraved in their genetic makeup. It's a shame.

I wonder how Jirou will feel about his older brother putting his own daughters, as well as his own offspring, in danger because he couldn't keep a secret - completely. I must find out.

* * *

><p>(RAPHAEL)<p>

"Geez, what's taking so long, Don?" I crossed the floor of the lair to where Donatello was sitting at his computer doing heaven knows what. I assumed that they were having no such luck with finding a match for the professor's outlined map due to the fact that several hours had gone by with us just sitting around, waiting, and doing absolutely nothing. It felt like days – days of being trapped down here with more people than any of us were accustomed to, and it was beginning to affect me like cabin fever.

Donatello spun his chair around to face me, looking frustrated. "Oh, I don't know, Raph, maybe the computer has a mind of its own and wants to move at its own pace," he stated sardonically.

_Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said that. Now he's mad at me_. "I'm sorry, I'll back off okay. It's just that with the Shredder back - I keep feeling like we're going to be up against something much worse than before and this - this is taking so long. It's making me anxious," I told him honestly.

His expression softened and he sighed. "I know, Raph, you think I don't feel that way too," he admitted. "I don't understand why it's not working. We should have been able to find a match since yesterday," he said exasperatedly. "It's like this place doesn't exist!"

"Well, if what you're saying is true, then we really need to get our hands on this painting," I pointed out.

Not that I wanted to get it, but if that's what we had to do, then that's what we had to do.

The purple masked turtle's brows creased with worry as he looked down. "I guess so," he mumbled.

Then his head jerked up when a distressed sound came from Michelangelo's room.

"What was that?" Don asked; slightly alarmed.

"I dunno and I don't care," I replied not entirely interested in hearing Mike's complaints. "By the way, where are the other two brainiacs?" I asked noticing that the two girls who were always at Don's side were not here.

They seemed to have an adept understanding for science and technology, and spent most of their time helping Donny out with this tech stuff. They reminded me a lot of April, and Don seemed to enjoy having the company of other intellects around him. More than just April; that is.

"Keiko borrowed my cell so that she and her sister could call their parents, and Nicole went to the room looking for Mya… that was a while ago," Don narrated nonchalantly, then his eyes widened and he looked towards Mikey's room. "Shoot!" He rose out of his seat and headed for said room.

I was right behind him when we got to the room where Michelangelo was standing in the doorway.

"No, you can't do that," the orange masked turtle whined, trying to pull something away from a very irritated Nicole.

Mya was standing all the way inside near the wall staring at the two in surprise.

"Let it go. I can't stand it anymore, it's driving me insane. Just let me finish, I won't touch anything on your shelves I promise," Nicole replied staunchly, then she tried to pull the broom away from Mike.

The mutant pulled it back; completely removing the stick from her hands. "No, you don't know what you're doing. You could throw away tiny pieces from my collection that could have been left on the floor," the turtle explained putting the wooden stick behind his shell.

"They shouldn't be _on_ the floor in the first place," she retorted.

"It's my room!"

"But it's filthy, I have to clean it. I can't stay in this anymore," Nicole challenged. "I'm walking through candy wrappers."

"No, I cleaned it earlier this week. It's not filthy," Mikey defended his room. "If you have a problem with it then why don't you switch with one of your cousins?" He asked the petite female.

She scoffed and crossed her arms defiantly. "I tried that already, but they had no intention of switching," she stated.

"Fine, just don't touch, clean or throw away anything from inside of here. It's my room and I have the right to keep it the way I want." Mikey said sharply.

Mya and Don rolled their eyes and I smirked; entertained by the squabble. "I can't say I didn't give you all a warning," I jumped in, drawing in their attention. "Didn't your sister pass the message on to you?" I asked Nicole.

Mike turned around at the sound of my voice, and Nicole gazed at me puzzled. "What message?"

"I told her not to touch anything in this room or else Mr. Shell-for-brains here would go berserk," I couldn't help laughing.

She turned around to look at Mya in disbelief. "Thanks, Mys," she said sarcastically, and pushed her way past Mikey to exit the room.

Michelangelo sighed in relief and laid his blue eyes on Don and me, "Geesh, why couldn't one of you volunteer your room for them?" He asked grumpily, proceeding to sift through a pile of stuff on the floor.

Donatello chuckled, "Because we're not as hospitable as you, Mike."

We both cracked up on that. "Chill, Mikey, it's not permanent," I patted him on the shell as he grumbled to himself.

Mya flattened herself against the wall as she made her way around Mike to get out of the room. She shot me an understanding glance, "I now see what you meant by _psychotic_, and I thought Nicole was bad."

We left Mike to himself, and made our way back towards the main area of the lair where we found Keiko standing in front of the television holding the shell cell in her hand as if it was poisonous. Ayame was next to her and Nicole stood frozen in front of the TV's.

Puzzled by their expressions Mya walked up to the other three and touched Ayame on the shoulder, "What's wrong?"

Ayame winced when she turned to face her cousin. The phone in Keiko's hand was on loud speaker and a shrill commanding female voice came through, speaking in Japanese.

"-_Ayame, Keiko, are you there? Did you hear what I said? I said that you and your sister must return home at once. We were so worried when we got the call from the officials. Your father took it hardest and he is not doing so well, and given what is going on with your Uncle, I think that it is in the best interest of Nicole and Mya's safety to come across as well. Keiko? Let me speak to Nicole and Mya_.-"

"What's going on?" I asked Leo and Master Splinter who had their eyes trained on the television. Splinter waved his arm gently to motion me to remain quiet and listen.

"_Mother, it's not as simple as that we can't just_..." Keiko responded in her native tongue.

"_Listen to me carefully, Takahashi Keiko, I want all four of you here by Tuesday; do you understand me? It is getting too dangerous for my peace of mind, and you need to be here for your father. I am going to call the embassy and the police across there to arrange for you to get your things and to catch a flight out of New York as soon as possible. They need to know that you four are alive. I am also making arrangements for them to have your cousin's documents available for them at the airport as well. Now may I speak to them please_," the woman pleaded.

Keiko looked back at her two cousins who had confused expressions on their faces.

I saw Don make a move to ask what was going on when the girl's eyes traveled to the television full of fear.

The news returned, and the woman began reading the full version of the seven o'clock news headlines.

" _- And now we bring you more news from inside the New Montefiore Cemetery, where an unnamed care-taker stumbled upon an opened grave where the late Professor Ichirou Takahashi was laid to rest last Thursday. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding this bizarre grave robbery, where the robbers took the late professor's body leaving behind an empty exhumed coffin._

_"Officials claimed to have tried to contact the Takahashi family, but found the home of the deceased in a ransacked state, and the four young women that were staying there, missing. The home was said to be occupied by the professor's two daughters; nineteen year old Nicole and eighteen year old Mya; along with their two cousins, Ayame and Keiko Takahashi; who are Japanese nationals._

_"The reports stated that all the personal belongings of the girls were left behind, but their vehicles were missing. Police fear that this may have been some kind of abduction, and the two vehicles were taken to make it look as though the girls left willingly in their respective vehicles. They have notified their remaining relatives in Japan as well as the Japanese Embassy on the matters of this case._

_"Witnesses claim to have last seen all four young women on Friday evening, returning to their penthouse apartment at around 7:30 pm._ -"

I didn't bother to listen to the rest of the story as a shocked Mya covered her mouth with her palms and began shaking her head. Her older sister, who was already tearing up, took a step towards her placing a careful hand on her shoulder. Ayame and Keiko were still rooted to their spots.

This was the most disturbing thing I've ever experienced in my entire life. I could hardly begin to fathom what it must feel like to have your own flesh and blood taken away from you by some illness, and then to have them ripped from their grave and dishonored in such a manner.

If I said that I felt these girls' pain at the moment I would be lying, but it did feel like I was the one who was violated. _This is wrong, this is wrong on so many levels_. My head began spinning. _They did not deserve this_. Anger rose up in me to the point that I could almost taste the bile in my throat. I felt sick to the stomach. Master Splinter and my brothers must have been feeling the same way I was, judging from the expressions on their faces.

"Who would do that, why would they do that?" Mya asked turning around to face the rest of us.

A moment of silence passed before Master Splinter broke through it like a sword slicing through stone. "My child, I fear the Shredder is behind this."

"Oroku Saki?"

Master Splinter nodded.

Mya's eyes narrowed and she shuddered as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"Mya…" Nicole choked out, trying to pull the younger girl into her arms.

Mya's head jerked up and she pulled away from Nicole as if she was some kind of stranger. "No, don't touch me!" she yelled at the shorter female.

Nicole flinched and stared at the girl with pained eyes. "Mya? I just -"

Mya glared at her, "I said don't touch me, this is your entire fault, you just had to take that stupid paper from him, didn't you?" Her voice was rising slowly in temper.

"Mya, what are you saying?" Nicole asked perplexed.

"Mya, you shouldn't say that, Nicole is your sister," Ayame said gently, trying to make peace between the sisters.

Mya spun on her cousin, regarding her with contempt in her eyes. "Shut up, Ayame. You know it's true. None of this would have happened if she hadn't taken that thing from that man. She was so wrapped up in herself and her precious computer programming that she couldn't resist...just like daddy, always consumed by their work," Mya turned back to look at Nicole.

"Mya, stop this now! You do not know what you are saying," Keiko snapped, demanding Mya's obedience.

"I know very well what I'm saying, Keiko. It's her fault they took daddy's body -" Her voice cracked on the last word, and she darted towards the exit.

Keiko moved to follow her but Nicole stopped her. "Leave her, I - " she began, but broke down crying. Keiko held her cousin in her arms and tears slid down her face as she silently cried with her.

Ayame moved to take the phone from Keiko where their mother's voice was still coming through, and switched the phone's speaker off.

"Leonardo, help Keiko with Nicole, and switch the TV off," Splinter delegated.

The blue-masked turtle nodded and did as he was asked. "Come on, I think you guys should sit down," he urged the two females to move towards the couch where they slowly, yet reluctantly descended.

Ayame was listening to her mother on the phone, shaking slightly as the woman listed her instructions for the girls.

"Donatello, come help me in the kitchen, I'll brew some tea to calm their nerves," Splinter said, then he cast a glance in my direction. "Raphael, go see if you can locate Mya before she does something we all regret."

"Sure thing, Sensei," I replied heading towards the exit. I wasn't worried about how far she'll reach because no one can get out of our lair without the correct key combination. I made my way out to the garage that housed the battle-shell, along with the shell-cycles, and the two other vehicles that belonged to our current house guests.

Making my way around the yellow Audi, I found Mya sitting in the driver's seat with her head resting on the steering, and her hands were clenched tightly on the wheel. The car was running and the glass was up. I curled my hand to rap my knuckles on the tinted glass.

"Hey, kid, whatch'ya doin'?" I asked lightly, not wanting to over step my boundaries with the distraught girl.

She didn't respond, and I saw her shoulders shudder which suggested that she was crying. "Where are ya planning to go?" I asked more directly, feeling the slight vibration of the vehicle under my fingers.

She looked up through watery eyes and cracked the glass. "I just want to get out, could you open the door for me, please," she begged imploringly.

I shook my head, "Nuh- uh, not until you tell me where you're going?" I was basically baiting her. There wasn't a chance of her getting to anywhere today; especially with everything that had happened in the last thirty-something hours.

"Nowhere, now would you let me out, please?" she stated, revving the engine.

I had to admit it; this kid had guts. "No, I can't do that, and believe me it's for your own good," I told her frankly, looking in her eyes.

"So what, you're keeping me prisoner down here?" she asked arching her eyebrows in surprise.

I saw a deepening look of accusation creeping up on her face, surely making us out to be a bunch of weird, alien kidnappers. "No, no it's not that at all!" I denounced her statement. "It's just not safe for you now, and neither is it for your family out there."

"You don't understand; he took dad from his - his grave. We buried him next to our mother you know. That was where he wanted to be and now he's gone," tears were pouring from her chocolate eyes again and I resisted the urge to groan. Comforting people, especially young, emotional girls, wasn't one of my strong points.

"I know, and I'm sorry you have to go through this, but we'll get your father's body back I promise. He had absolutely no right to do that, and he will pay for it, but in the mean time we need to keep you guys as safe as possible, okay," I said to her, hoping that it would offer some sort of comfort. It wasn't like she had any reason to rely on my word or anything. We barely knew each other, but I think at least this girl represented the weak and innocent that we swore to protect.

She looked up at me with a hopeful gaze. "I just want to get him back, Raphael. I want him back where he belongs. This is too much," her body wracked with sobs.

"I know, kid, believe me I know," I said, thinking about what I would have done if I was in her shoes and it was Master Splinter that the Shredder took.

"I - I didn't mean to say those things to Nicole either. I mean, I don't blame her, but sometimes she just seems so damned cold. You know the only time I ever saw her cry was the day dad died at the hospital, after that she just holed up," the girl continued sobbing.

"Hey, you ever think that she was hiding her emotions to protect you? I mean she is your big sister after all. She must have been hiding them from you to show you that she's not scared or weak," I explained, trying to draw on my own experience as an older sibling.

She managed to gain control over her crying, and looked up at me, "She shouldn't have to," she admitted miserably.

"No, she shouldn't have to. Now," I said, creating space between the door and I, "are you going to get out of the car?" I allowed, watching as she calmed down. "I think you need to go back in there and talk to her. I'm sure she's hurting more than ever, and she needs you just as much as you need her."

She didn't say anything to that and switched the engine off. "You're right, I should talk to her," she said pulling the keys out of the ignition, and getting out of the car.

"That a girl," I said, rubbing her curly head.

She gave me an odd look but didn't say anything.

"Leave the Shredder to us, kid, we'll get your father back, I promise," I said, hoping that Splinter and the others felt the same way. _That old tin-head had gone too far. Disturbing a dead man's grave. Talk about low, dishonorable and low_.

"I'm not gonna get you to stop calling me '_kid_,' am I?" She asked behind a sniff.

I cracked a smile at her, "I guess not, but if you want I could always exchange it for half-pint," I suggested.

She managed a wan smile and shook her head, "Fine, call me whatever you want..._Raquel_."

She said the name in such a way that she confirmed that she was not going to let go of it anytime soon. _What the shell did I start? Damn_. I swore inwardly as the human gave me a quick hug and ventured back towards the lair.

* * *

><p><em>Any criticisms? ;-) Up next - well you have to tune in to find out.<em>


	7. Agents & Ninjas I

_Hello,_

_How are you doing today. Surprised I'm sure ;-P_

_Thank you Peter and Kevin for lending me your turtles & other canon characters!_

_Thank you **Halloween Witch** for helping me on this._

_Thanks for reading & reviewing **AJ92**, **technogeek29**, **suereya** et al._

* * *

><p>(LEONARDO)<p>

The lair had been especially quiet since the twins called their mother, and we heard the news about Professor Takahashi Ichirou's body going missing from his grave. As expected, the girls' composure crumbled completely as if the floor was suddenly pulled out from underneath them.

Without giving it a second thought, we knew who was behind it, and that was just the first sign of all things to come. They were going to get much worse. I made a promise to myself, that this time, I was not going to hesitate when it came to Oroku Saki.

With the help of Master Splinter and Don, we managed to calm Nicole down, while Ayame was still trying to reason with her strong willed mother on the shell-cell. After a few minutes of quiet arguing, Ayame told us that the woman insisted that they meet up with the local authorities to make their statement, and catch the next flight out of New York.

The young woman looked torn between pulling her cousins away from New York, and returning home to be with her sick father. No one said anything afterwards because we were still at odds with the whole scenario. Raphael was successful at getting Mya to return, and she simply collapsed beside her sister on the couch; locking her in an embrace while apologizing for what she had said.

April and Casey were stunned when they came out of the dojo to find everyone on edge. When Mikey joined us, he immediately tensed up as the wave of dark emotions in the room inundated his own. I stood up and motioned to him and the others to follow me, as I made my way towards the dojo.

We weren't going to wait much longer. The sooner we acted the better. _Sorry Sensei._I threw an apologetic glance in his direction followed by a bow to show my respect. He mimicked the gesture, giving me his unwilling blessing to carry out whatever we decided to do.

The next morning, Don sauntered into the dojo where I was polishing my katana. "Keiko and Ayame called their mother again. It appears Mrs. Takahashi is gonna have her way. Since it was assumed that their lives are under threat, she arranged for them to meet with Federal agents at the airport where they'd get their traveling documents. And also, they'll be able to make their statements right there and then. She said that the cops got their papers from the apartment, and offered to have the girls safely on a flight to Tokyo by tonight, as requested by the Japanese Embassy of course," he explained.

I nodded at him in acknowledgement. I believed that it was safe enough to send them on their way under the escort of the FBI. "But what about Nicole and Mya?" I asked thinking about the two American girls.

"They're going too. They also fall under the Japanese jurisdiction. They've got dual citizenship, so it was easy for their Aunt to make the requests for them as well. Money talks right?" He added rhetorically.

I was curious to find out what their parents did for a living, seeing that it was so easy for their mother to make those arrangements in such a short space of time. I decided against pursuing the answer, given the sensitive nature of circumstances surrounding them and their family. "Okay, so what time tonight are they supposed to get to the airport?" I sheathed my finished katana, and drew the other that was slung across my shell.

"It's a late flight. Midnight, so they've got to be there by nine," Don replied while messing around with a bo staff from the wall.

"Alright then, we'll drop them off first and make sure they meet up with the agents. April and Casey could go with them to see them off. I don't think the Foot will strike in a public place like the airport. Too many cameras,"

"Too much security," Don filled in. "Then we get the professor's body back?" Don raised a questionable eye ridge.

"Yes, but that still leaves the painting," I thought out loud.

Don spun the staff in his hand skillfully with a smile, "Already sorted out."

I looked back at him puzzled, "How so?"

"Ayame told her mother that their cousins wouldn't come unless the officers got their hands a particular item from the apartment for them," the purple-masked turtle smirked.

I returned a grin of my own. "They've only been here for what, 59 hours and we're already rubbing off on them. Resourceful bunch aren't they."

"Heh, whatever you wanna call 'em bro," he said, throwing aside the spare bo staff to draw his own and take a fighting stance. With a smug smile on his face, he held out his hand and invited me to come at him.

I swung my katana around, and prepared for our spar. "I think I'm rubbing off on you as well Donny," I laughed and lunged at him, katana extended, using the force from my legs to carry me through the move. He ducked from the blade and spun around, deflecting my katana with his staff.

_Nice job Donny, but I think it's time we step up the game._ I thought, going in full on my brother. We sparred for two hours before retiring our weapons and returned to the living room area. After that, it felt like we were playing this huge waiting game, just counting down the hours 'till tonight.

I couldn't help but notice the anxiety in my siblings. Eventually Raph and Mikey played off their anxiety bysparring; while Don and I listened to Master Splinter tell stories to the girls for the sake of creating a friendly distraction.

At precisely 9 pm, we dropped off the six humans at the John F. Kennedy International Airport, and waited a short distance away for April and Casey to confirm that the girls had met up with the right people; and got on their plane. The night was cool and windy, with clear skies, which meant that there wasn't any chances of delays or flight cancellations. Which was a good thing if we wanted them away from Shredder.

The only thing that bothered me at the back of my mind was that he had a sect in Japan itself. There is the risk of him finding out that they had returned. It would give him the opportunity to send his Foot after them. _Too late to consider that now. I sure hope he doesn't find out about this. I mean, how would they know that we're at the airport at the moment. _My mind was racing with new thoughts.

"Leo," Raphael said drawing my attention to him. "Casey said that we've got a problem," he was listening to his shell-cell as he spoke.

"What kind of problem," I said through my teeth, fearing the worst.

"He said that the agents didn't have the painting with them, and they wanted to take the girls back to their headquarters for questioning," he explained.

"Questioning?" Don turned around in the driver's seat hearing Raph's words.

"Yeah, they want to know what's so important about that painting. They're not letting them get on the flight."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Casey says he only caught so much before they moved them to a more private area. He said that he overheard one of the guys saying that one of their men was attacked at the apartment. Apparently, he was the guy they sent back for the painting," Raph's worried eyes met mine.

"Is he alive, and where's the painting?" I asked as the tension rose in my body.

Raph held up his hand so that he could listen to Casey speaking on the other end. "He doesn't know if the man's alive or not, but they said that the painting's gone. Whoever attacked the agent took it."

"Not _whoever_, the Shredder," Mikey stated matter-of-factly.

"Shell, this is bad," Donny breathed out.

"Where is Casey?" I asked wondering if they had taken the both of them into custody as well.

"Hang on," Raph's eyes narrowed as he listened to the device. "Casey and April didn't identify themselves with the girls. They just hung around close-by like regular people waiting at the airport. They stayed close enough to over-hear what was going on. They're keeping an eye on the room they took the girls into," Raph stated.

"What's happening now?" Don left the driver's seat to come closer.

"They...shit!" the red-masked turtle exclaimed.

"What?" the rest of us chorused

"They're taking them back to their headquarters now, they're leaving with the girls," Raph was literally on the edge of his seat. "Donny, drive back up to pick up Casey and April, they're following them towards the exit as we speak," he looked to the younger turtle.

"You don't have to ask twice," Don said, jumping back into the driver's seat of the battle-shell.

As soon as we pulled up at the exit, April and Casey were already outside waiting. They got in just as we watched two black Avalanche pick-ups pull off.

"Follow those vehicles," April pointed at the pick-ups.

"Is it safe to follow the FBI?" Mikey asked with a note of concern.

"Well we'll just have to find out," Casey smirked, rubbing my youngest brother on the head. Mike cringed and batted his hand away. He looked up at the human and scowled. He didn't like when we treated him like the youngest anymore, now that he was twenty going on _twenty-one_.

Casey and Raph chuckled at his reaction.

"We'll keep a safe distance for now. Shouldn't be too much trouble," Don noted.

"Do you think they'll just let them go when they're done questioning them?" I asked, as we tailed the vans. We were a couple vehicles behind on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway by now.

"Huh, I don't know," April said uncertainly.

After a few more minutes, we were traveling along Broome Street with the pick-ups way ahead of us, branching off at an intersection. Just as the second pick-up swung left, two vans came down the stretch with speed and careened into both vehicles.

The first Avalanche was over turned, and the second spun out of control and crashed into it. I cringed as the deafening sound of the crash carried all the way to us. Don mashed down to speed up to get to the vehicle smash up where two more vehicles were pulling up.

We didn't care who saw us at the moment and jumped out of the battle-shell before it came to a complete stop.

From the sight of the over-turned pick-up it was hard to believe that anyone survived that. "Casey, Raph, we'll take this one. You guys get to the others, see if they're okay. Call 911," I prayed that they survived the crash as I ran towards it.

I was so distracted by the crash that I didn't even pay attention to the people who rushed out of the other two vans, trying to get to them before us. My heart could have come up through my mouth when I saw what one of them was holding.

"No!" Raph growled as the figure in black drew his ninjato and dropped to the ground on one leg, plunging the blade through the window on the driver's side.

I saw blood spray, followed by a painful cry. Another figure had already leapt over the vehicle and I automatically assumed the worst. Raph had already engaged the first ninja in combat and I launched over the vehicle to get to the other.

I fired a kick at the man's chest and he skated backwards on his feet. Shifting his heel to stop his slide, he held the blade over his head with both hands, and broke into a sprint, charging for me.

"You people have clearly lost it," I growled at him, ensnaring his sword-wielding arm beneath mine, flipping him over, before kicking him in the face to knock him out.

Another one came at me that instant, and I immediately disarmed him, connecting my fist to his jaw. He stumbled back with the force and came at me again. I was in no mood to be wasting time and took him down with a round-house kick.

There were more, and they were trying to get to the vehicles. I saw that none of us were able to get the girls out of the vehicles, and two of the agents were already dead. I wasn't sure about the other two.

"Leo, behind you," Raph called out to me. I spun around, wielding both katana, which connected with the ninja's ninjato. The man retreated to regain control of his weapon, and charged again. I ducked from his blade, and did a somersault kick, taking him down by the neck.

He landed with a thud, and the ninjato flew from his hand.

"April, Don," I called for them when I saw that they created a little freedom for one another. "Get them out of the truck," I ordered.

"Leo, get them out, we've got ya covered bro," Raph said, sending a ninja flying with a kick.

I dropped to the ground to peer into the vehicle. The two agents in the front were already dead, finished off at the hands of the ninja's ninjato. Hanging upside down in the backseats were Keiko and Ayame. They had a series of cuts on their faces, and the seatbelt held them securely in place.

"Keiko?" I called the young woman tapping her on the shoulder. Her eyes flew open and she blinked a couple of times before wincing in pain. "Keiko are you alright?" I asked.

She inhaled sharply and looked around disoriented. When her eyes finally focused on me she frowned, "Leonardo-san, where - what happened?"

"Listen Keiko, don't panic okay. You were in an accident, the truck got turned over. Can you feel anything, can you move?" I asked urgently.

She winced some more, and slowly shook her head, "Yes, I think I'm okay, I can move everything."

I sighed in relief, "Okay here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna cut you out first okay, so brace yourself and I'll pull you out. Got it."

She nodded anxiously and then her head turned to Ayame who was next to her unconscious. "Ayame, she's not - " her voice rose with panic.

I tried to look over to get a better look at her. She was breathing. "No, she's just unconscious, see if you could get her to come out of it," I instructed.

Keiko pulled up her arm and nudged Ayame on the arm, "Ayame, Ayame, _anata wa watashi o kiku ka_? _Me o samasu_ Ayame, _me o samasu!_" (Ayame, can you hear me? Wake up Ayame, wake up!)

Ayame stirred and her eyes opened slowly at the sound of her sister's voice. "Keiko, _nani ga okotta?_" (Keiko, what happened?)

"Ayame listen to me, you guys were in an accident and I need to get you out now," I insisted, not giving Keiko the chance to answer her sister's question. "How badly are you hurt, can you move your arms and legs Ayame?"

She looked at me puzzled for a moment before nodding her head, "I can move them -"

"Good, I'm gonna cut Keiko out first before I get to you okay," I warned her.

She nodded as I slid my katana in to cut off the seatbelts. Keiko braced herself with her arms so that she would roll to the floor rather than drop.

"Leo, are they okay? We're having a little problem here," Raph announced while I was pulling Keiko out from the wreckage. She crawled aside to allow me space to get to Ayame.

"They're okay so far," I answered my brother.

"Ayame?" I called the other young women before I slipped my blade in. She turned her head towards my voice. "I'm gonna cut you out now, so you might wanna brace yourself," I told her.

She shook her head and placed her bleeding hands on the roof of the vehicle. Once she was free and on the ground, I helped her out.

I helped them get up on their feet and turned to see April helping Nicole and Mya to the battle-shell, while Mikey and Don held off the ninjas. Raph and Casey were holding their own against the men. Two more broke through Mike and Don's barricade and came at me.

Putting myself between the two black-clad figures and the two girls, I stopped both men by spin-kicking one in the chest, and catching the other in the shoulder with my katana. He sucked in air through clenched teeth, and raised his ninjato with his good arm.

He lunged at me, only for me to knock aside his weapon and deliver a couple of punches to his opened chest. He went down, and the other took the opportunity to leap over him, and barrel down on me with his blade.

I dodged the attack and rolled out of the way, stopping a short distance away, crouched to the ground. He landed on both feet and followed through with the attack, but I swung a leg out, taking him by the knee. He fell to the ground with a grunt, and I knocked him out with a blow to the temple.

I turned back to the sisters to help them to the battle-shell. Ayame was bent over, clutching her side as Keiko supported her. "We need to get you guys to a hospital," I thought out loud. "Here, let me," I offered, taking Ayame up in my arms.

"Leo, these guys called for back up," Mikey pointed out as he and the others backed up towards the battle-shell.

"I know," I glanced at the other dark figures that showed themselves. Then when I thought the worst had come yet, movements out of the corner of my eye made me look around for Keiko. She was lying on the ground in the middle of the street.

_Aw hell no. What are the odds of picking up the wrong girl. The way Ayame was clutching her side I thought that she was the one who needed assistance. I was wrong._

Donatello suddenly came into view and bent down over the twenty year old female. "I've got her," he said lifting her off the ground. Then when I turned to head for the battle-shell, I felt something sting me in the back of the neck.

I didn't have time to identify what it was because within a second my legs went weak, and the world began spinning. I let Ayame down, and felt her arms clasp unto mine as she tried to steady me.

"Leonardo," her panicked voice rang out. The world before my eyes faded in and out of darkness. Don's cry was enough for me to discover what was happening.

"Leo, no!" the purple-masked turtle yelled, as he ran towards us. "Raph, Leo's been hit by a poisoned dart!"

That was the last thing I heard before darkness clouded my eyes and numbness took over.

* * *

><p>(KEIKO)<p>

Startled by the sound of a door slamming, I woke up from the darkness I was in, and groaned when a sharp pain shot through my body. I was lying on my side on something cold, damp and hard. I couldn't see a thing in this blackness. Fear gripped my mind as I crawled up on my knees, feeling around on the floor to try and make sense of where I was.

"Hello?" I whispered cautiously, not knowing who was there in the room with me. If this was a room at all. I tried to recount everything that had happened before waking up here, and the last thing I remembered was helping my injured sister get to the turtle's vehicle after being in an accident.

Beyond that, I had no idea of what happened. My mind replayed the details of everything that occurred while Leonardo and his brothers were trying to get us away from the car crash, and those ninjas.

_Of the many things that could have happened in my life, coming to New York, and getting thrown into a fray with ninjutsu-practicing men dressed in black, fighting mutant turtles was not something I could have imagined. This has to be a dream._

_The way they - the turtles fought, was something I thought only happened in the movies. Clearly, these guys defied the odds and proved that wrong. Who knew that there were going to be gangs, and mutants practicing aspects from Japanese culture here, in the Western hemisphere. _

My mind was blown. Ignoring the pains in my arms and legs, I crawled on my knees trying to find some end of the room. That was when I bumped into something solid. Using my hands, I carefully felt whatever it was. My hand came into contact with what felt like a leg.

It was smooth and the calves were robust, fully defined and male. Assuming that it was one of the guys, I tightened my grip and shook his leg, whoever it was.

"Hey, get up," I begged the individual. Suddenly, a light breeze passed before my face and a hand caught my wrist firmly, pulling it away from his leg.

"What do you think you're doing?" A male voice hissed. His hand was still holding my wrist and it hurt.

"Donatello-san, it's me Keiko," I said trying to pull my injured hand from his grip.

He immediately released my wrist. "Keiko, I'm sorry I thought you were the Foot or something," he said apologetically. "Are you alright?"

I was rubbing my wrist in the dark, worried about the extent of my injuries from the crash. It didn't feel broken or anything, but I was sure that there were cuts all over it. "I_have_ felt better, but I'm fine," I replied sourly.

"Are you sure?" he pressed with a little more concern.

"I'm not sure about anything. I would like to know how we got here," I said, sitting back on my knees. "The last thing I remembered was helping Ayame get to your truck, and Leonardo-san came to help her. What happened after that?"

I heard the sound of him shuffling before his voice came. "Well, Leo thought that Ayame was injured the worst, so he took her from you. The next thing we knew, you were passed out on the ground. I think you fainted or something, and by the time I got to you, those ninjas started shooting at us with poisoned darts. Leo got hit first, then me, I don't know about the others," his voice left off at the end as he searched his mind for the rest of the details.

"And now we're here," I observed.

"Yeah, and I bet this is the Foot headquarters."

I wasn't sure what the turtle was talking about, but I was suddenly anxious to see my sister again. "We need to find out if the others are here," he said, and I heard the sound of him standing up.

"Donatello-san, I do not know if you can see in the dark, but I am sure that I cannot," I informed him, feeling alone in the dark.

"I can't, but hearing your voice is enough for a trained ninja. Come on, let's try to locate the others," his reassuring voice said. I felt a hand clumsily reach out for my shoulder, and then it slid under my arm to help me up. "And you can call me Don or Donny, Donatello-san is too formal," he requested lightly.

"Okay," I said, holding unto his arm so that I won't fall in the dark.

"Hello, anyone else in here?" he called out loud making me jump. "Guys, April, anyone?"

We waited for someone to respond but no answer came. "Maybe they're still out cold from the poison," he pointed out, and urged me to walk with him.

"What makes you think that they're here as well?"

"Because you're here with me, and knowing the Shredder, if he wanted to separate us, you wouldn't be here."

I must admit, the turtle had a point. After leading me forward for a few steps, he stopped and lowered to the ground. Surprised by the movement, I held back, "What are you doing?"

"It's okay, here, see who's this," he told me, pulling my hand down and resting it gently on someone's face. "My foot bumped into their arm," he explained.

I knelt down and passed my hand over the person's face. The touch woke them and they gasped in fear. Recoiling from my touch, she spoke. "Who are you, where am I?"

"April-san?"

"Keiko, what happened, where are we, why's it so dark?" Her questions came without a pause.

"April, are you okay, it's me Don," Donatello told her.

"Donny? What is this place, where are the others?" The woman's voice sounded panicked.

"We don't know, it's just Keiko and me so far, we're trying to locate the others. We were taken captive by the Foot."

"Just you two?"

"Yes, unfortunately." I was a little disappointed that it was not my sister. The last time I saw her, she as badly hurt.

Suddenly the lights came on and I found my self being blinded by whiteness all around. Squinting, I stood up on shaky legs to get a full view of my surroundings.

"Geez, give us a warning," Don cried, shielding his eyes from the white lights. Then he offered a hand to April to help her stand.

The room had three white walls that boxed us in, and a clean clear glass which acted as the fourth. The floor was made of some sort of metal and it looked wet. I didn't like the looks of that. Anything that had a combination of metal and water was not a good sign.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw my cousin lying near the door that stood out like a flaw in the bleached wall. "Nicole!" I tried to rush for her, but my legs didn't cooperate with me, and I found myself tipping over.

Two arms pulled me back up and steadied me on my two legs. "Hang on; I'll see if she's okay. You stay here," Donatello stated leaving me with April.

As Don bent down to check on her, a figured came to stand in front of the glass, flanked by more _shinobi._"She is alive turtle, no need to check," a deep sinister voice barked from under the metal samurai-like armor.

April's body went rigid, and she glanced nervously at the purple-masked turtle. Don flew up and glared at the addressor. "Shredder, where are my brothers?" he demanded angrily.

"I have no use for them at the moment, but you on the other hand, you have a brain that I could use. _All_of you," he said turning his head to look at each one of us.

"What do you want Shredder?" April asked, just as hateful as Donatello.

"You have no place to address me female," came his remark. "I should warn you though, one false move and the very floor you are standing on, will turn into a high voltage frying plate. So I'd suggest you give me your full cooperation."

Don scoffed, "You make it sound like we have a choice."

"Hmm," the metal clad man folded his arms across his breast. "I suppose," he said, then he made a small signal with his hand. "I think it's time for Nicole to wake up."

The last word came with a downpour of cold water from a sprinkler system overhead. I gasped as the icy water pounded on my skin, literally shocking my system.

Assaulted by the coldness, Nicole suddenly flew up, sucking air into her lungs as if she was drowning. She coughed and spluttered looking around wildly. "Hey there, take it easy. It's me, Donny, remember?" Don helped her as she tried to stand up.

She frowned at the turtle and brushed her wet hair out of her face, confused by what was happening around her.

I mean, who wouldn't be. Here we are in some kind of lab, being rained on.

Her brown eyes were filled with questions. "What, where are we?" She finally asked the turtle.

"Nice of you to join us Nicole," Shredder interrupted her disorientation. Her head spun in his direction and she blinked at the stranger blankly. The water was shut off without warning, and we sighed in relief.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking around our prison.

"Don't you remember, we already met, Takahashi."

Nicole looked back at Don, then at me and April, then back at the Shredder. "Oroku Saki," her eyebrows arched and she took a step closer towards the glass to inspect the armor. "Why are you doing this to us? Is this because of that stupid code, the one you stole from my father?"

Shredder laughed, shaking the metal armor. "Why are you asking questions when you already know the answer? I asked you to do one simple task, one. Just solve the puzzle and give the answer to me, but instead, you chose to hide it. You chose to defy me, and that was not a very wise decision. If you had just given me what I wanted, then you wouldn't have been here."

I wasn't sure if 'crazy' was the right word to describe this man, but he was definitely off the charts.

"You're insane, I'm not giving you anything," Nicole spat. "You took my father's body from his grave, his grave," she screamed the last words at him. "Why, why would you do that?"

Nicole's body trembled with rage, and Donatello hesitated before moving to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Your father had a secret to hide, a secret that I only found out about the day he was admitted to the hospital. I'm sure that you're aware that he fell ill at a conference three weeks ago.

I was there when he collapsed. The poor man thought that he was dying, and passed an envelope to his assistant. He told him to give it to his daughters, give it to Nicole. Tell her to keep it safe," Saki paused to study Nicole before continuing.

"I couldn't care less about the envelope or its contents at the time. That was until I saw the seal on it. The seal of the Ultimate Daimyo from the Battle Nexus. But you have no idea what that is, do you child?" He observed.

"I made it my business to get that letter. What I found inside of it was even more surprising. A code, one that he created using symbols that he designed. I didn't know it at the time, and I entrusted copies of that coded document to my team. However, no one was able to decipher it. None of them, and I thought that it was odd. I only employ the best.

Geniuses amongst men, but your father proved to be something more. I figured that there has to be something more to that code. Something was missing. There was something else that we required to crack it, but I couldn't exactly ask your father now could I. Nature has a funny way of disrupting one's plans."

"So you targeted Nicole. You figured if the professor trusted the code to his daughter, then she had to have some knowledge of it," Don said for the first time, breaking the Shredder's banter.

"Something like that," the metal suit replied. "I did some research and found out that she inherited more than just his DNA. She inherited his passion for programming, and I was quite pleased to discover that her cousin had a hand at it as well," Oroku Saki turned his head to me.

I suppressed my shudder and looked down to my feet.

"What about my father's body?" Nicole asked, bringing his attention back to her. "You haven't answered my question."

"Well, my dear child. Maybe this phrase might give you a clue as to why I did that."

I could swear the man was smiling under the helmet.

"He who is laid to rest - "

"Finds his 'piece'," Nicole finished for him with barely more than a whisper.

"Ah, so you know," came the dark voice.

"You think that's what it meant?" I asked in surprise.

"What else could it mean," he replied without missing a beat.

"You bastard!" Nicole lunged at the glass, and Don had to pull her away. Oroku Saki didn't flinch, and a slow menacing laugh escaped the cold suit.

"Now, if you don't mind, I need to know what you found out. I want to find out everything you have discovered. I would also like to know where that painting fits in all of this. Either that or I will force you to crack the code like you did before," he demanded.

"We're not telling you anything Shredder, and you can't make us," Donatello challenged. His voice was hard and unwavering. He was standing up to this man as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Of the four turtles, I would have never guessed that he had it in him. Donatello-san could give this man, or whatever he was, a run for his money.

"You're one to talk turtle. You _will_tell me everything; or your brothers, their sisters, and that vigilante friend of yours will die. You have exactly one hour to decide what you want to do. I'll be waiting," he stated matter-of-factly, and walked off.

We waited for them to leave before speaking.

"You okay?" Donatello asked my cousin. His eyes were mostly focused on her shoulder where there were small cuts and abrasions along them.

She nodded quickly, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry; we'll get you guys out of here. Shredder's not gonna get away with this," he said to her firmly. Then they turned to face April and I.

"What about you guys?" He asked.

"We're okay. Cold, but okay," April answered. "What about you, are you alright? I saw when that dart hit you."

"It's fine. I'm fine. The poison was only a sedative. Nothing more," he waved her off.

"Okay," she looked at him through worried green eyes, and sighed at his dismissal.

It made me realize just how much she cared for them, and that they had a tendency to put others before themselves. _Well at least this one did._

"So... do you have any idea how we're gonna get out of here?" April asked inspecting our holding cell. Her red hair was darker and slicked down on her head from the cold shower we were forced to endure, which of course, was the reason for my uncontrollable tremors at the moment.

"Look, the water's receding," She pointed to the floor where the water was indeed flowing away at the edges of the room.

The turtle's eyes widened as if he had an epiphany, "You know what Ape, you're right. I think we may have a way out of here."

_I hope you're right Donatello. I hope you're right._

* * *

><p><em>Well you know what to do. Do as you please.<em>

_Enjoy your day. ;-D_


	8. Agents & Ninjas II

_Thank you for R&R guys._

_Thanks **Halloween Witch**!_

_I don't own the boys._

_This is Part II to 'Agents and Ninjas I', of course._

* * *

><p>(MICHELANGELO)<p>

Initially, when the vehicles collided with the two trucks, I thought that it was just a regular accident; unfortunately, I soon found out that I was wrong. Dead wrong. The leading pick-up was over turned, and the other was forced to crash into it head long, sending it skating a short distance away.

Under the instructions of Leo; April, Don and I went to the aid of the vehicle that was right side up, while he and the others dashed for the other. Next thing we knew, we were battling Foot ninjas in the middle of the street, while trying to girls as well as their FBI escorts out of the vehicles.

_You guys just don't know when to give up._ I said to myself as I made alternating jabs at a ninja. He dodged the first couple of blows, and didn't expect me to release the nunchuck in my right hand, which gave me the advantage of an extension. The wooden piece landed on his skull, knocking him down.

Four more came at me, and I parried each of them until Don came in to even the odds. "Need some help?" The purple masked turtle glanced at me briefly before sending two of them flying with a swing of his Bo staff.

I snorted, and disarmed the other two by wrapping the chains of my nunchucks around their ninjato, and yanking them away. "Guess not," I stated, kicking both men in their chest. Sadly, that tiny second of freedom was interrupted when more of Shredder's men showed up on the scene.

"Guys, I've got Nicole and Mya," April called from behind us.

Don and I turned to see April helping the two girls out of the vehicle, and we moved to give them cover.

"Mikey, the agents. See if they're okay," Don said.

"Got it," I abandoned them to look back into the front seats of the vehicle.

The agent in the driver's seat was a female of Latin descent, and her head hung at an awkward angle to one side, and I couldn't tell if she was breathing. There was a man in the passenger seat, and blood matted his dark hair down at the temple of his forehead. He was breathing, but his eyes were closed.

_Please let her be alive._ I reached a hand in to feel for her pulse, but was yanked back by a ninja. He caught me off-guard and I back pedaled to get my arms up to block his attacks. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by more ninjas.

_Great, just freakin' great._ "Come and get it you creeps!" I yelled whirling my nunchucks, prepared to beat the crap out of them.

In that moment, I saw one of them push his hand through the window of the vehicle and slit the throat of the woman. _Shit, they're finishing them off_. My eyes widened in disbelief.

"No!" I blindly crashed through some of them, as I watched the same ninja, move unto his next victim. _What's the point in killing them? They're innocent. _I glared at them not daring to say the words out loud. Sometimes it scared me that we're practicing the same arts, even though they were evil; we were _all,_ first and foremost trained in ninjutsu.

With adrenaline and rage coursing through my veins, I cleared my way through the ninjas, trying to get to the one who had murdered the two agents. He took a stance and waited for me. I could have sworn that the man was grinning at me from under his mask.

"What's the matter, afraid to make the first move?" I taunted the human.

He changed his stance by moving his arm back, raising the bloodied ninjato over his shoulder. He charged forward, and when he got into the zone that I wanted, and stepped aside.

He didn't expect me to move that fast at that point in time, and stumbled when his own velocity threw him off. He steadied himself and turned on me again. This time, I avoided the blade and locked unto his ninjato using my nunchucks. I yanked his arms downwards with the intent of flipping him over unto his back, and used my knee to drive him to the ground with as much force as I could generate.

His head made contact with the pitch and a painful gasp escaped his lips. He groaned clutching his chest, but made no move to get back up. "That's for the federal agents," I looked down at him in disgust, and ran to meet the others.

I saw Leo helping Ayame and Keiko, and saw more ninjas emerge from the shadows. _Where the heck do they crawl out from?_ "Leo, these guys called for backup!" I was facing the ninjas that had us backing up against the battle-shell.

"I know," he replied. Then Keiko collapsed, and before any of us could blink, Donny was already at their side picking her up.

I glanced back at some of the dark figures and realized that they were hesitating. _What are they up to now?_

The question in my head was answered when I heard Don yell. "Leo, no! Raph, Leo's been hit by a poisoned dart!"

I trained my eyes on my 'eldest' brother and saw him waver unsteadily. I rushed towards them, just as Don and Raph did.

"Donny, I got him," Raph said reaching for Leonardo, who at the time was weighing down Ayame. She moved aside to allow Raph to lift Leo while I was whirling my nunchucks, looking around for the shooters.

"Get him inside the battle-shell Raph," Don said, and then as he moved forward he froze in his tracks. "Mikey, you might wanna take her."

I glanced back at him puzzled and moved to take the unconscious girl from his hands. "Donny?" I asked puzzled by the distant look in his eyes.

I couldn't catch him when he lowered to the ground because I already had Keiko. "Casey, help Donny," I looked around for the next free person, but the man was tied up with some ninjas.

"No, no, no!" Raph swore, and then I felt something hit me in the shoulder. I looked over and saw the telltale signs of the dart. The loose red cords wrapped at the end, hung lazily over my shoulder like a tag.

The numbness spread through my arm quickly, and darkness draped over my eyes, as different voices melded in my ears.

The next time I opened my eyes I saw a blurry green image, with a red streak across it. I felt a pair of hands patting my face with urgency.

"Mikey, Mikey wake up. Snap out of it buddy," Raph's deep voice reached out for me in my muddled state of mind.

I winced, groaning as his hands continued their assault on my cheeks. I wasn't quite ready to get up. "Mikey, can you hear us?" Leonardo's voice came through, causing Raph's hand to halt in their charade.

"Yeah," I blinked to focus on my two brothers who were looking down at me with worried looks on their faces. "What happened?" I asked trying to raise myself up.

I felt their hands grip me by the arms to help me sit up, "Do you want the whole story or from the point those scumbags started shooting at us with poisoned darts?" Raph asked sarcastically.

"After the darts," I mumbled, trying to rid myself of the drowsy feeling.

"Well there's not much to tell. I got hit right after you did, and everything went dark, then I woke up here in this cell. The end."

I looked up at my red-masked brother in disbelief and then turned to Leo. The look on his face suggested that he had no more information to provide than our hot-headed brother.

"And you were out before any of us, so it doesn't make sense asking you right?"

"Right," the blue-masked turtle responded begrudgingly. "We're in the Shredder's new HQ, and they've got Don and the others in some other cell."

"Donny and the others?" I searched frantically for Don, but only saw Casey, Ayame and Mya with us.

Casey was pacing the floor, and the girls were sitting side by side with their arms wrapped around their knees, which were pulled up against their chests. Ayame had her head down, while Mya's chin rested on her arms, and her eyes were focused on the floor.

"Yeah, they've got the computer whiz team somewhere else in this rat hole," Raph grumbled.

I didn't say anything because I was relieved that Shred-head kept us alive instead of killing us immediately. It meant that he needed us. Well, Donny more than us.

"I wonder what'd he separate us for?" Casey asked, impatiently pacing the metallic floor.

_What the shell._ I shifted in panic when I noticed the cell we were in. The floor was made of some flat metal with grooves in it, which made a pattern of small squares. Whereas, the walls were made up of lasers.

"Dude, we're in a cell with laser beams, and Donny's not even here. Couldn't he put us in a normal prison cell," I groaned.

"The most important thing is that we're alive, Mike," Leo said standing up. "Now we need to find the others and get out of here."

"How?" Raphael asked crossing his arms.

"Yeah, we don't even know where the others are," Casey added.

Leo shrugged. "Somehow. I just need time to come up with a plan," he stated with a hint of uncertainty.

I know my brother always comes up with a plan, even after he says things like this, but I was beginning to feel the tension in my neck rising. I could only imagine how he was feeling with the additional pressure of everyone else depending on him.

_Must be really hard. I feel for ya bro._ I gave him an understanding smile. He looked grateful for it and looked up at the ceiling above us. _It has started._

"It doesn't make sense trying to escape through there, you'd just be killed faster," a strange voice announced.

I turned around and saw a male figure, dressed in black standing on the outside of our prison.

Casey and my brothers were ready to fight, and the ninja chuckled. "You freaks have spirit I see," he said, moving slowly, walking along the length of the cage.

"Where are our friends?" Leo demanded.

"Master Saki has other plans for them, as for you six, you'll get to see what he has in store for you now," he stated, lifting his arm to reveal a small device he held in the palm of his hand.

He squeezed it and the outlines of the tiny squares on the floor glowed fluorescent blue. This made us step back from it cautiously, although it was everywhere on the floor. Then the lights streamed upwards, forming a small cage around each of us.

"What the shell," Raph spun around in a tight circle, watching as the walls grew around him.

"I'd avoid touching that if I were you," the Foot ninja remarked.

"What is this?" Mya asked in surprise, her curly dark hair fell away from her face to reveal a dark bluish bruise that shaded the cheekbone on the left side of her face. Both girls were standing now, trapped together inside of a cell.

"Insurance," the man in black answered. Then more of the Shredder's Foot soldiers entered the room. I counted them silently. There were 24 of them. Some of them were Foot-tech ninjas, and carried guns, while the other few carried ninjato.

"What are you going to do you want with us?" Leonardo growled.

With a flick of the wrist, the ninja deactivated the perimeter of our original cell, leaving us in the five smaller ones. "Me? Nothing," he replied frankly. "The Master however, will give you the answer to that question when you meet him."

Raphael smirked at the man. "Well ain't that somethin'. Shred-head _invited_ us over, an' he ain't even here to greet us," he stated sarcastically.

The ninja scoffed at the remark and moved towards Mya and Nicole. He tilted the remote in their direction causing the cell around them to collapse.

"Hey, leave them alone," Casey snapped as we watched two men grab them by the arms. They dragged them forward as both girls struggled to free themselves.

"Let them go," Leo's voice was low and threatening. My red-masked brother on the other hand, clenched his fists, and growled at them.

"What can you do about it freak?" he asked chuckling. "Oh that's right, absolutely nothing."

"You better pray we don't come out of here," Raph pointed at him.

The man laughed again, and said something that I didn't hear because I was busy watching what the other ninjas were doing. One of them stepped out with a bundle of chains and shackles, which had a connection that went up to the ceiling. He was waiting while the other two ninjas forced the girls to move towards him.

Where we were located, looked like something out of a science fiction movie. It was extremely large, big enough for a small crane to fit inside, and a couple feet beyond the Foot ninja, was a drop. _We were on some mega-platform._ What was down below at the edge of the platform, I didn't know. _I hope we don't get to find out._

Up above our heads were metal criss-crossing catwalks, which stretched across the entire room.

"No, let go of me," Mya fought the ninja that was trying to control her. She tried to kick them, but one of them simply dodged her legs, and back-hand slapped her across the face. Her head snapped left with the blow, and she kept her head that way for a few seconds before slowly turning her head back.

"Don't you dare lay another hand on my cousin," Ayame said.

Taking a step closer to her, he grabbed her by the hair at the back of the head, and squeezed her face between his thumb and fingers. "Or else what?" he looked down into her eyes.

She couldn't say anything with his fingers digging into her cheeks, but stared daggers at the masked man.

"Take your hands off her," Leo threatened.

The ninja kept holding her face and laughed. "Silence! Or I'll snap her neck."

I saw her brows furrow as her eyes blinked with fear in them. The rest of us obliged, and the ninja yanked her head backwards spitefully. "I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

Ayame glared at him. After gazing down at her angry face, he released it, and moved aside to allow one of them to wrap the chains around her body, and shackle her arms and legs.

They did the same to Mya, and after gagging them, the chains started moving upwards.

"What in the world?" Casey stared at the contraption in shock.

"What the shell," both Raph and Leo chorused, looking up with slack jaws.

"What are you doing to them?" I asked, watching the chains run upwards until they were taut; stretching their arms up into the air.

"Can't you see," was his response.

The human females' screams were muffled by their gags as they found themselves being raised several feet into the air. The crane, or whatever it was, came to a stop when they were at a particular height and began moving them towards the edge of the platform.

"No! What are you doing? The Shredder's already got us; you don't need to kill them." Leonardo said hastily.

"Don't worry turtle. We don't intend on dropping them...as yet."

Well, that only made us glare at them more.

"Time for the real fun to begin," the ninja stated smugly.

Brandishing their weapons, the Foot soldiers divided themselves in to four groups, and surrounded us. Then the laser walls of each cell expanded to include a group of men with each one of us. Now I was facing six Foot ninja without a single weapon to defend myself.

"This' your idea of a fair fight, six against one?" I lectured them. "Come on, we're unarmed, we're harmless. Surely you don't believe that you need all that just to take me down," I grinned at them.

"Don't waste your breath on these dirt bags Mike. They already know we can take them out with both hands tied behind our backs. That's why there're so many of them," Raph cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck.

"Speak for yourselves guys. I've only had five years of training with you guys. I'm no where near your levels," Casey pointed out impishly.

Leonardo, who was already in his famous stance, held a level thoughtful gaze. "Guys, you know what Mikey does best when he's fighting?"

_Me? What the shell is he talking about? I need to pay more attention when they're having group discussions. Especially when it's about me. _"No. What do I do best Leo?" I asked.

The blue-masked ninja glanced at me and smirked, but didn't respond. To my displeasure, Casey nodded, and so did Raph.

"Yeah, why?" Raph asked.

"Well, my guess is his technique would work best in this instant," Leo stated.

"Uhm guys. You're forgetting one small detail here. I don't know what technique you're talking about."

Casey chuckled, "You mean they never told you?"

"No!" I half yelled as the six Foot ninja came at me. Two of them were carrying ninjato, three wielded kusarigama, and the last ninja had nunchaku. I was weaponless, so that meant I had to think fast.

I was prepared for the ninja with the nunchucks, since that was my main weapon of choice, but the others however; fought with a little more skill than the ones we had met before.

I ducked from the blades of two kusarigama that swiped over my head, rolled away from their dragon kicks; and evaded one ninjato which consequently nicked my shoulder. I hissed in pain as the wound stung, and then had to dodge the nunchuck wielding ninja, only to end up in the path of the other warrior who kicked me in the plastron. I stumbled back as the blow winded me.

"Hey, that hurt!" I snapped.

"Mikey watch your back!" I heard Leo's yell from his section of the laser ring. I rolled my eyes at him. How he saw me from over there while battling his own six opponents baffled me. The laser walls had extended the space for each of us, dividing the room into four sections. From above it probably looked like a square with an 'X' drawn through it.

I smirked, "Easier said than done, Leo."

I blocked the punches that one dealt out, and ducked down; sweeping my foot out to knock him off his feet. Then I caught one with the ninjato beneath the jaw with an uppercut. As he stumbled back, the two kusarigama ninjas rushed forward to attack.

As they slashed at me, I avoided their blades narrowly; sustaining another cut on my cheek as I back flipped away from them. The third kusarigama ninja swiped at me from behind, but missed and then I had to block the other ninjato carrying Foot ninja.

When he tried to impale me, I caught his arm, wrenching the sword out of it, and flung him into his comrade. He let out a wail when the kusarigama embedded itself in his side, and he slumped over the other ninja. The man pushed his injured colleague off, and yanked the blade out of the man's side; splattering blood on the ground. He was ready to fight again.

I had enough of these blades, and fighting defensively. My aim was to wear them down, but these five remaining ninjas weren't backing down. My eyes locked on the one that was carrying the nunchucks. _If I could get my hands on those, I may stand a better chance at taking you people out even faster._ I wiped away the blood on my cheek with the back of my palm, and called them forward.

"Come and get me."

They lunged at me mercilessly. "On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have said that." I stopped the two wooden sticks of the nunchaku from hitting my head; and spun around to wrap its chains around the other ninja's sword. While keeping the two of them tied up and locked in my grasp, I kicked one in the stomach, and then the other, sending him flat on his face.

The three left were the kusarigama Foot ninja. I smirked as they all tried to get at me. I parried their blows with the nunchucks, and smartly maneuvered my way around them, to avoid being hit. Suddenly, one of them caught me by the arm when I tried to strike another; and slashed my right arm, drawing blood.

_Shit!_

Ignoring the pain, I dropped the nunchuck and grabbed the chain of his weapon, yanking it. It didn't come free, but he was thrown off balance with the sudden force I pulled at him with. The one to the left of me threw a punch which I ducked, and I swept my leg out to knock him off his feet.

He fell with a thud, and the guy who wouldn't let go of his damned kusarigama, kicked me in the plastron. I fell sprawling on my shell, and saw the blade of the third guy, coming down at my head. I rolled away, and heard the sound of metal slicing through metal.

The ninja's kusarigama was embedded in the ground where those laser beam generators were buried. A strange crackling noise was heard, accompanied by sparks, and a funny burnt smell. I was lying on my side, inches away from a laser wall, staring at the ninja who was still holding unto his weapon while being electrocuted alive. The others were just getting back up and moved away from the warrior. I cringed at the sight.

_Two permanently down, four still to go._ I sighed.

The sparking continued, and the laser walls began dropping.

"Mikey, what'd you do?" Raph asked.

I jumped up at the sound of his voice and saw him fighting off a group of ninjas that were carrying a different group of weapons.

"Whatever he did, it's our ticket out of here." Casey warded of two of his attackers and was going after the others.

"Nice going Mikey." Leonardo was holding a ninjato in a defensive stance, waiting for the Foot ninja to come at him.

"Thanks, I guess," I mumbled, and waited for the four black-clad men to come at me. The walls were completely down now, and men came at me. The first one swung at me with a ninjato, and I disarmed him, kicking him into another ninja. They collapsed to the floor, while the other two came at me.

I managed to lock his weapon with the nunchuck I still possessed, and tried to flip him over, but the other guy caught me in the knee with his foot, causing me to drop down and lose my grip on the ninja. Then he swung at me with the kusarigama, which didn't fail to cut my thigh.

I yelped involuntarily, and tried to escape the onslaught of the ninjas.

"Mikey!" Raph yelled knocking out two men with a tonfa he had confiscated. Then the red-masked turtle rushed to my aid, and immediately overpowered them. I jumped up to face the other two; ignoring the searing pain in my injured thigh, and delivered a double phoenix punch to one, and spin-kicked him in the chest. He stumbled a bit, and I finished him off by slamming my elbow in his temple.

The pain in my thigh increased, but it didn't stop me from delivering a roundhouse kick to the other ninja's chest. As he tried to balance himself, I spun the nunchuck and knocked him out.

I looked around for the others and saw Leo spin with the ninjato in his hand, disarming the last two of his six opponents; knocking them out. Both of them fell to the ground and remained motionless.

Then he rushed to Casey's aid, taking down the last standing Foot ninja.

"Thanks," Casey glanced briefly at Leo before going to stand over the fallen man, and nudging him with his foot.

"No problem." The blue-masked ninja breathed heavily and walked back towards us. The look on his face told me that all the wheels in his head were turning as he thought about how we were going to get Donny and our friends back.

I glanced up at the two girls that were dangling from the crane over the edge of the platform. What was down there, we had yet to find out.

"Mikey, you're bleeding," Raphael's hand clamped unto my good shoulder as he studied my injuries with an overly concerned face.

I winced as I was reminded of the pain. "I guess that makes two of us, Raphy boy." I smirked at my brother, watching the blood streaming down the side of his face from a gash on his forehead.

He shrugged, bending down to rip off a piece of fabric from a ninja's shirt, and tied a tourniquet around my thigh. "This one's the deepest," he observed, satisfied with stopping the bleeding, and ensuring that I was going to _live_.

I rolled my eyes at him. Even though he acted tough and antisocial, Raphael was always the most protective one over me. I guess without Don here, he immediately took up the role of the medic. Either that or he wanted to avoid Don's rant about first aid and infections. I wanted to tease him, but Leonardo saw the look in my eyes and shot it down with a warning glare of his own.

"Guys," Leo looked up at the two females. "We need to get them down from there before the Shredder sends the rest of his Foot ninja, _and_ find Donatello, and our friends."

"The question is how?" Casey stated, looking around for controls to the machine.

"You and Mikey keep searching for the controls. Raph and I will try to get them down." The blue-masked turtle started for the crane to climb.

"Okay," I saluted Leo as he and Raph climbed to the top.

Casey and I set out to find the controls, but judging from the size of this level and the amount of tech-stuff all around; we were going to take a while before we located the right controls.

"Hey, I think I found it!" Casey hovered over some levers near a door on the eastern end of the room.

"Are you sure?" I shouted, jogging back to him. My leg felt slightly numb and stiff as I moved. _Shell, I was supposed to un-tighten it to let the blood flow again before redoing the tourniquet. _I was irritated by the slight limitation.

"Heck yeah," he stated positively. We looked up at Raph and Leo, who were already manually pulling up the girls by the chains.

"Hey bros," I called for the turtles' attention. They were just an arms-length away from pulling the girls unto the main bridge of the crane. "We found the controls okay. Hang tight, we're gonna bring you in."

Casey waited until they freed them to activate the crane's horizontal bar, to bring them back over the platform to be lowered.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and the room was flooded with, yes, more ninjas. However, these were a bit more technologically advanced; and I swore inwardly when they started firing at us with machine guns.

* * *

><p>(OROKU SAKI)<p>

I left the three women, and the turtle called Donatello in their cell; just to check in on things with my lab technicians. I wanted to maximize all available options which would help me get my hands on the device that would help me destroy this planet; even if it entailed using my most hated enemy.

My initial plan involved getting revenge on those terrapin creatures, and those human girls, that soon changed when the first report on the professor's corpse came in. They had found nothing. After that I sent my men out to retrieve the girls at all costs.

They had intercepted a police officer at the apartment, who was sent back to fetch a painting, the day after I was informed that the girls were preparing to travel. This proved to be a very interesting development. The Foot-Tech ninja were able to get some information out of him, before incapacitating him.

I did not want them to cross paths with any law enforcement agency, because it would only draw unwanted attention to the resurrection of my establishment; but it was necessary. So far we have been able to conceal our activity and existence, until now.

During their mission to acquire the girls, they were able to capture the turtles as well. To my delight, I decided to take advantage of the brains of the entire group.

_What does that phrase mean if there's nothing there? This has to be some trick. I've had enough of this dead man's games and puzzles. _I growled in frustration over the opened corpse which rested on the autopsy table of the 12th floor lab.

Upon acquiring the body twenty-four hours ago, I had my scientist scan and search the professor's body for anything out of the ordinary that may help me find the _piece_. However, those incompetent beings returned a negative report.

"There's nothing there Master." A young man in his twenties knelt down before me, holding up various documents; scanned images and a video log saved on a disc. "I checked again, and there's nothing there. Perhaps your men did not check the coffin properly. What if it was there instead?" He dared.

Irritated by his boldness, I slashed the paraphernalia out of his hands. Everything went flying, and scattered across the floor. "I had my Foot soldiers check the coffin thoroughly before bringing the body to me. They assured me that there was nothing in it!" I said condescendingly.

He cowered at the sound of my voice, and ducked his head in shame. "I am sorry Master. I should not have tried to undermine your ninja's work, or your reasoning."

"You know your place." I stood up and walked around him. "If there's nothing there then I need to get whatever it was Nicole wiped clean from her father's hard drive," I told him. "I will force her to give it to me."

"Go. I do not need you anymore," I dismissed the man.

_I think it's time I give those four some motivation. _I switched on the monitor that showed the other three turtles and their friend fighting some of my most skilled ninja. I wanted to tire them out first before I finished them off. Then I will deal with the one wearing the purple mask.

As for the sisters of Nicole and her cousin, they will serve as the ransom for the information I need. Seeing them hanging there, several feet in the air over a vat of acid thrilled me. I sent the video feed to the cell where Nicole and the others were, and went to pay them another visit. I knew that it was much sooner than they were hoping for.

* * *

><p><em>What's Saki up to?<em>

_Any comments / suggestions ? R&R if you chose. Take care people! _


	9. Acid & Water

_Thank you dearest readers._

_Thank you **Halloween Witch** for Beta Reading. You're wonderful._

_I do not own TMNT._

* * *

><p>(MYA)<p>

I was looking down at the turtles and their friend as they skillfully fought a group of men who were shrouded in black, and carrying a variety of weapons. Each of them were sectioned off by some kind of laser wall, and paired with six ninjas to fight. What was even more intriguing, was that they were weaponless against their opponents.

At first I thought that they were going to lose, since they were at a disadvantage. That was until I saw Leonardo claim his own weapon when he flipped one of the guys over on their back, driving him to the floor with his fist. I glanced back at my cousin, who at the time was looking down with apprehension and fear. Her brown eyes also had a pained look behind them.

I wanted to speak to her, but I couldn't. One of those asses figured that we should be gagged. The only thing that I could do was to give her a hopeful look, and hope that she understood what I was trying to say. _These guys were winning, and I'm sure they wouldn't leave us hanging here._

I saw a tiny smile form at her eyes, and then she winced, leaning her head back as pain took her once more. I wondered how much pain she was getting, since we were strung up several feet in the air by our arms, on a chain that was attached to a crane. Her arms probably felt like they wanted to rip free from their sockets.

I however, only felt severely uncomfortable, as my arms were used to this kind of torture after spending years of training as a gymnast. Something I gave up for cheerleading. _Thank you uneven bars! _I thought gratefully.

We were hanging over what looked like a large tank, or a vat of translucent green liquid. I also noticed that there were three other tanks nearby as well, and they were all filled with some liquid. _What's the purpose of that? I would like to know, but then again; they always say 'curiosity killed the cat'._

Dreading the event of falling into the green liquid, I cast a glance in the direction of my 'would be' rescuers. Something went wrong, and Michelangelo was lying on his shell, looking up at a ninja who was about to hack his head off with a weapon that looked like a funky axe.

I cringed as he brought it down, aiming for the orange-masked ninja's head, and breathed when Mikey rolled out of the way. The weapon sliced through the floor caused the entire grid to shut down. The man slumped down as electric currents plowed through his body.

Michelangelo jumped up to face four more ninjas. He had the upper hand in the beginning, but was brought down to his knees after a minute. I feared for the turtle's life. Seeing his struggle, Raphael struck two men with his tonfa and rushed to Mike's aid. Eventually, they had the situation under control, and all of their opponents, were lying haphazardly over the grid.

I turned to Ayame, feeling relieved to find out that we were going to get out of this mess. _Now we just need to find our sisters._

Raphael and Leonardo decided to climb the crane while the other two went searching for something.

"Hang in there we're coming." Leonardo said. He and Raphael were already on the horizontal beam, crawling towards us.

We nodded anxiously, tired of hanging from our arms over some unknown liquid.

"Casey and Mike are trying to find the controls. They'll bring us in," Raphael stated, hanging down near the upper sheave with one arm and both legs. He stretched his free arm forward and pulled one of the chains towards him.

I was startled when I felt myself jerk upwards, as he and Leonardo began pulling me up. "Nice and easy Raph," Leo guided.

When I was close enough, Raphael helped me climb up unto the horizontal beam. I held unto a bar with both arms wrapped around it, because they were still in shackles, and looked back at my cousin hanging precariously over the tank.

"Don't worry. We'll get her," Raphael assured me, and then he pulled the gag off, and proceeded to hang himself off to reach Ayame's chain.

We heard Michelangelo's voice shouting from below. "Hey bros, we found the controls okay. Hang tight, we're gonna bring you in!"

"Come on Mya; let's get that thing off you. It's just one chain, so all I need to do is cut the lock, and everything's off." Leonardo drew the sword that was tucked in his belt, and focused on my bounds. The chain ran through the middle, and was wrapped across my middle, going down to the shackles on my feet.

I wrapped my arms even tighter around the bar, and stared at the sword. "With that thing?" I asked in shock.

The blue-masked turtle smirked, climbing next to me, and spaced my hands out. "It's a ninjato," he explained calmly. "Relax; I'll try not to chop off your hands."

I arched my eyebrows at the remark. "You better not," I stated, turning my head away as he lifted the sword. I heard a sharp clink and the chain slid off my body. The shackles were still there, but now I was able to move freely.

"See." He pointed at the chain that was hanging down from the pulley system.

"Thanks for not slicing off my hands with your sword," I returned.

"You're welcome." He gave a short laugh, and moved to help his brother with Ayame.

After getting her up, and removing her chain, she clung to the machine trembling. "Thank you." She nodded at the two terrapins. "What is that down there?" She asked, craning her neck to look down at the tanks.

The two brothers had grim expressions and shrugged. "We're not sure," Leo replied.

"Probably acid, or something worse," Raphael added numbly. We shuddered.

_Just how much crazier can one person get?_ I found myself thinking about Oroku Saki._ I mean. He's obsessed with this whole megalomaniac thing. Then these turtles, they're so well collected about it. It's like all this is just part of their everyday lives. Nothing came as a shock to them. I guess that should be a good thing. They were experienced when it came to dealing with these guys. _

The crane jerked, causing all four of us to grab unto it as it began moving towards the platform. I saw Ayame grimace and opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong, but was cut off when a loud explosion was heard.

"Aw damn," Raphael swore, as more men dressed in black barreled through the room with guns blasting.

The crane was moving closer to the platform while it lowered; and Casey and Mike ran for cover from the laser guns.

"I knew something was off. We were missing the laser guns!" Mikey yelled as he dived behind some bulky equipment.

"Laser guns, really!" I ducked my head under my arms, as Leo tried to shield me with his own body, and Raph; Ayame.

"Argh, we've gotta help them," Raph grumbled in frustration.

"There're too many of them," Leo hissed angrily.

One of them fired at the controls, causing it to erupt in flames; then as more gun fire shared out, the hydraulic chambers on the machine exploded violently. Angry flames roared outwards forcing the men to retreat. The part of the crane that housed the base of the latticed boom became engulfed by the fire, and resulted in another explosion.

"We have to jump!" Leonardo yelled, pulling me up to stand on the horizontal bars. My legs trembled as the device was still in motion.

Raphael held unto Ayame, and prepared for the jump.

I looked at the distance and my stomach sank. "Guys, we can't make that."

"Oh yes we can. Just hang on a few more seconds, we're almost -" Raphael was waiting for us to get closer.

I didn't know what to think of their confidence in making the leap, but from my experience with heights and jumping, we weren't going to make it. We were three feet away from a successful jumping point. The crane suddenly stopped moving and dipped dangerously, sending us down. As the fire raged on, the crane bent downwards, screeching inharmoniously as the metal twisted away from its frame. The base end crashed into the platform edge, and jerked violently; flinging me off the lattice.

Leo caught my hand, and we dangled from the tipping metal structure by his right arm. "I've got ya." His voice was strained. "Raph?" The turtle turned his head to look for his brother.

The red-masked turtle was hanging by both arms looking at whatever was down below. "Heh, I'm good," he smirked.

Ayame let out a squeal in fear, as she struggled to keep herself from falling. She was holding unto a bar with both hands. "I am not good!" She gritted her teeth.

The men above were still firing, and it didn't take them long to look over the edge and start shooting at us. I looked down only to be horrified when I saw that we were over yet another tank filled with liquid. This time there was no odd coloration. _Please, please be water!_

"What are the chances that that's acid down there as well?" Ayame asked.

"Uh, a hundred to none," Raphael guessed.

I gasped. "We're going to die."

"We're not going to die!" Leonardo affirmed.

The section of the crane we were hanging from broke off at the top, and the jolt caused Leo to lose his grip. I screamed as we fell, and shut my eyes waiting to be burned alive in a vat of acid.

I landed with a splash in liquid, and was assaulted by the extreme coldness of it. I sank a couple feet in the fluid, hearing the eerie sound of my ear drums being flooded. I waited for the burn, but nothing happened. It was water. The revelation took me by shock, and took a few seconds for my natural instincts to kick in when I realized that I was going to drown. I kicked hard to swim back up, and gasped for air when I broke through the surface.

"Leonardo?" I looked around frantically for the turtle. _He fell with me didn't he?_ I couldn't see him. I swam in a circle before something brushed against my shoulder.

"I'm right here," he said surfacing. "Are you okay?"

"Now I am. It's water," I stated in relief.

He was about to say something else when two more heads broke the surface of the icy cold water.

Ayame sucked in air, and Raph shook the water out of his face.

"Damn this is cold!"

"Don't complain. Just say thanks it wasn't acid," Ayame told him.

The red-masked turtle shrugged, and looked up. "We have to get out of here before that thing falls," he stated grimly.

"Yeah, but we can't go up. There are no rungs in this tank for us to climb out," Leo informed us, looking up.

The platform above was three stories above us, if so much, and the men ceased their fire. That probably meant that they thought that we were dead, and they had recaptured Michelangelo and Casey.

I breathed in a shuddering breath as I treaded the water, watching Raphael and Leonardo think about what they were going to do.

With chattering teeth, Ayame spoke up. "What about below. There must be an outlet somewhere."

"You know what, maybe you're right," Leo said. "I'll dive down to check, I'll be back in a few." He ducked down into the water and disappeared down below.

We swam towards the edge, in hopes of finding something to hold on to.

"How deep do you think that is?" I asked out of curiosity.

"It is an industrial tank, it could be forty to fifty feet," Ayame said, as we made our way round the perimeter of the tank.

"So this Shredder guy knocked out five floors in a building just to install tanks to put water and acid in them?" I asked, treading the water with one arm, and passing the other along the wall of the tank.

Raphael chuckled, "Yep, welcome to my world kid."

I turned in the water to look at him, and my fingertips struck something. "Ouch!" I pulled my hand up to look at it.

The red-masked turtle swam closer. "What is it?" He wore this extremely concerned look on his face that I'd only seen once before. It made me feel like a little child under the watchful guard of an older brother.

"I think we found something to hold on to," I stated nursing my throbbing fingers.

"Finally," Ayame immediately located the bar and latched onto it. "I am feeling really exhausted," she took a shuddering breath.

Leo's head surfaced and he breathed deeply. "I found our way out," Leo announced through chattering teeth.

"That's great Leo, how deep a swim is it?"

"About thirty, but we have to open a hatch first. I'm not sure about what's after that." Leonardo looked from me and then to my cousin. "Ayame, are you okay?"

Her face was pale, and she nodded with half closing eyes. "I am just really tired."

"You don't look too good cuz," I told her.

"I'm fine really," she tried to put on a brave face.

"Mya make sure she doesn't fall asleep. Raph and I will try open the hatch, then when you see the water level dropping, don't swim down 'till we come back to get you, got it."

"Okay," I nodded at him.

The water was beginning to have a numbing effect on me, and my muscles felt as though they were shutting down. I held on to the bar and pulled Ayame's arm into mine as the two turtles dived under. I stared at the spot where they vanished from my sight for a while, waiting for them to resurface. The coldness was almost numbing, and I was fighting the urge to sleep.

"Mya,"

I turned to the girl beside me. "Yeah."

"Mya, the water's too cold. Hypothermia," she said dreamily.

"I know, but you can't sleep yet. You've gotta stay awake." I was trying really hard not to panic, but I was shivering so much that it scared me.

"No, the turtles."

"Yes, they're going to open the hatch down there. They're going to drain the tank so we'll get out. Hang in there Ayame." I pleaded with the girl.

Her eyes flew open, and I saw that she was in pain. "No, do not worry about me. The pain…it's - " She stopped herself before continuing. "They're turtles Mya. The temperature's dropping," her teeth chattered, preventing her from continuing.

"What about them? I don't understand," I said in exasperation.

She shook her head. "They are _kame,_ so that means that they're cold blooded Mys. If you start shutting down, then they would have probably shut down already." She explained solemnly.

"S' – so you think I should swim down there," I began.

She nodded.

"But what about you, I can't leave you here. You're already sleeping away on yourself. You'll drown," I said in horror.

"I would go with you cousin, but I will not make it in this condition," she stated looking down into the water. "You must go before your legs give up on you," she pushed me a bit.

That's when I realized just how bad my tiredness was. "I'm going, just don't sleep okay," I cautioned her.

She nodded with a reassuring smile and waved at me to dive.

I cursed inwardly as the cold water bit into my arms as I swam down to the bottom of the tank. Swimming in cold water felt like a thousand weights were attached to my limbs. It was difficult to stroke the water. _It should have been Ayame doing this, or even Keiko. They were the swimmers in the family. Not me. _

Reaching the bottom seemed to take forever, and my chest felt heavy as I approached Leonardo and Raphael. They were near a large hatch, and the safety bar was raised showing that they were close to opening it completely.

Leonardo was holding Raphael beneath the arms, and looked like he was struggling to move upwards with the red-masked ninja.

In reaching for Raphael, I saw that Leo was tiring out. I pulled Raph from him, even though he was reluctant to release his brother, and indicated with a nod of my head for him to swim back to the surface.

He shook his head stubbornly, and moved back to the hatch on the bottom of the tank. I was feeling really heavy and exhausted, so I left him and pulled Raph back to the surface. He wasn't as heavy beneath the water as I would have imagined.

Upon reaching the surface, I pulled him to the bar, and hooked his head beneath the chin. His eyes weren't open.

"Ayame," I called for my cousin's attention. She was nodding off, and had just begun to sink. Startled by the sound, her eyes flew open.

"Mya, is he okay, and where's Leonardo-san?"

"Hey it's only one of me and two of them. Leo stayed to open the hatch. What do I do with him now?" I said trying to raise the turtle's head out of the water.

"Try breathing for him or something. Just get him up."

"Huh," I turned him around, shell against the wall, and watched his peaceful face in contemplation before actually doing resuscitation. He didn't exactly have human facial features. _Wonder how this was gonna work, but hey._ I shrugged and went for it. As soon as my lips landed on his mouth I exhaled, and he gasped for air.

_Thank God._

His eyes went wide when he saw me that close to him, and he pushed me back a bit. "What are you doing?" he asked, stunned by the weakness in his voice.

"Hypothermia set in. You were out of it. Had to drag you to the surface myself," I explained through my trembling.

He scrunched up his face briefly, and a strange look flashed across his face, "Huh. Where's Leo?"

"He - "

A splash of water cut me off, when the blue-masked turtle in question fought his way towards the bar for support. He was breathing heavily, and shuddered violently. "I got it open," he stuttered under heavy eye-lids. "The water's draining out, we have to go now." He lifted Ayame's arm over his neck to assist her. "Raph, think you can make the swim?" He asked his brother as his teeth chattered.

Raphael seemed drowsy, but nodded. "Yeah," His speech was slurred. "What about you?" He gave Leo a weary look. "You look like you're about to pass out bro."

"If I stay in this any longer, yeah, so let's go." He and Ayame went down with the receding water, and then I and Raphael followed after. I was dreading our little suicide mission when the darkness shrouded my eyes. _Who said that all drainage water goes out?_ I tried to calm myself as I held my breath.

The access way was large enough for the turtles to swim through, and I entered behind Raphael. The pressure of the water propelled us through the discharge pipe, for about thirty seconds before we found ourselves exiting our dark confinement.

When the light appeared ahead of the tunnel, we were suddenly pushed forward and found ourselves falling into another pool of water. As I crashed into the water, a current pulled me forward, and I hit an iron grating. I grabbed unto to it, pulling my head above the water.

The water was salty and it burned my eyes as I tried to breathe in oxygen. I looked around for the others, and saw them trying to get their bearings by clinging to the metal filter.

"You guys okay?" I choked out.

"Yeah," Leonardo spluttered.

Ayame nodded breathlessly and Raphael coughed. "Peachy," he mumbled.

"I guess this water goes into the sea from here," I observed, watching the pipes drain into the pool, where the water flowed down into another system, through a large metal grating. The entire water system was made of dark red bricks, which also formed the walls in this room. The walls were mostly hidden by large pipes running through them, with some coming down from above, all ending over the body of water.

"Come on. We can't stay here," Raph stated, pulling me off the grating with an icy hand. We waded to the edge to climb out, and dropped down on the floor in exhaustion. I didn't even want to think about moving. My body was numb and sore, and I closed my eyes to falsely retreat from the pain. The only thing I was grateful for was the steam that was rolling over us from a nearby pipe.

After a few seconds of enjoying the heat, and listening to the silence from the group, I sat up. "What now, guys?" I nudged Raph who was lying next to me.

He waved his arm in the air and groaned, "Ugh…we save the others. I just need to soak up more of this heat." He shifted slightly, hesitating to raise himself up.

Sighing heavily, Leonardo sat up. "Mya, you think you two could manage swimming out there?"

_Swim out, and leave my sister and cousin behind in this place. I don't think so._

"You want us to get out and leave you two to go rescue the others?" I asked, making no attempt to hide my disagreement.

"I know you don't want to leave them behind, but it's for the best. It's safer that way. We know what we're doing, and we promise to get Nicole and the others back. But we can't do that unless we know that you're safe." He explained standing up. Raphael joined him, and both turtles seemed to regain whatever little strength they had in them.

"No. I want to go with you - " I started, but was cut off by Raphael.

"He's right kid," Raph interjected, "You can't defend yourself, and she's in no condition to go back up there." He glanced at Ayame who was still lying on the ground holding her side.

She winced as she rolled over to look at us. "Mya would you listen to the _kame_, we'd only be a hindrance to them. Leonardo-san we'll make it out; but what then?" She asked Leonardo; completely overruling my protest.

"Hide and wait for us. We'll find you."

"Ugh," I hated when she did that. "Really?" I flung my arms out in exasperation.

"Really," Raphael patted my cheek wearing a smug grin on his face.

"Your cousin's hurt, so I trust you'll take care of her," Leonardo stated as he surveyed our surroundings.

A pang of guilt struck me when I realized that I wanted to go back into the fray, when she was clearly injured. "I will," I said in defeat.

Suddenly, the terrapins' bodies went rigid, and they went into a defensive stance.

"Someone's here," Leo informed us in a hushed tone.

I looked around fearfully, but saw nothing until a figure emerged from the shadows. They were partially hidden in the shadows cast by the cascading pipes, and they stood there waiting.

_Aw hell no. More ninjas._ I groaned.

"Don't these people ever take a break?"

I was expecting more of them to reveal themselves at that instant, but this lone individual just stood there, watching us silently from under his mask. He shifted to one side, and drew a long curved sword from the hilt on his back and pointed it at Leonardo.

The blue-masked turtle narrowed his eyes and held his ground.

"What is she doing?" Ayame asked, getting to her feet and moving out of the way.

Her statement made me study the person more closely, and then I saw my error. This ninja was a female. The height and build was that of a woman, and then there were the other indicators as well.

"She wants to fight me first," Leonardo supplied, and with that she rushed at him with her sword.

He gracefully moved out of the path of the blade, and blocked all of her attacks without breaking his form. The two of them went at it as if they had been practicing the moves for years; and none of them were able to land a single hit on the other.

Raphael growled in irritation, as he ran out of patience. "We don't have time for these games Leo. Take her out already."

The woman darted right to attack, and when the turtle tried to counter her move, she feigned left, and brought the sword within an inch of his neck. He froze, and the two stood face to face; breathing heavily.

Blood started to run down the edge of the sword, spilling from the cut in the palm of his hand where he caught the blade.

"Leo?" Raph rushed in to attack the woman, but Leonardo held up his hand to stop him, and the woman let down her blade.

"What the shell are you doing?" he demanded of his blue-masked brother.

"I wouldn't have killed you Leonardo," the female ninja said calmly, ripping the mask off her face.

Her face was long and slender, with high cheekbones, and her dark hair was cropped at the edge of her jaw line. She had green eyes, and spoke with a Japanese accent.

"Karai?" Raphael sounded surprised. The expressions he and his brother wore on their faces were shocked and confused.

She turned to Raphael and smiled, "Why hello Raphael. It is nice to see you again."

"Nice? What the shell Karai, you just couldn't resist returning to your father's side once you heard that he was back, didn't you?"

She scoffed and turned her attention back to Leonardo. "I see you've made new friends," she nodded at Ayame and I. "And you don't waste time when it comes to crossing paths with my father do you?"

"What are you doing here Karai?" Leonardo snapped. "I thought you moved on to a better life?"

She tilted her head with a look of amusement in her eyes. "Tsk, tsk. Don't you trust me Leonardo?"

"What do you want Karai?"

She smirked, and replaced her sword in its sheath on her back. "Come with me, and you'll see." She stated coolly, turning away and walking back to where she came from.

"Why should we follow you Karai?" Raphael demanded.

"Because you have no other choice. You don't even know where your brothers are being kept. I saw Michelangelo on the video feed. I must say, his fighting has improved quite a bit, but it didn't help him much in the end there."

I was confused by the woman's behavior, and looked at Raphael for some answers. "Who's she?"

"Shredder's prodigal daughter," Raph glared at the woman.

Well that didn't help much. Leonardo was also glaring at her, but his face betrayed and emotion I couldn't quite place. Was it betrayal, or disappointment?

"Karai we don't have time for your games. Why have you returned?" Leonardo questioned.

"Because I heard that Foot members were regrouping. I needed to find out what was going on. Little did I know that my father was back," she finished hesitantly.

Suddenly, a loud whistling sound cut through the air, interrupting whatever Leonardo was going to say next, and red lights began flashing about. Then, when I thought things couldn't get any worse, a solid steel door sealed off the runoff gateway from the pool. Our way out was lost.

"Is that an alarm?" I asked looking around.

"Yes. We must go. We cannot stay here. You all must follow me," Karai said with urgency.

"Are you mad? What makes you think that we'd trust you?" Raphael countered.

She spun around and her eyes narrowed. "You're trapped here, so that wouldn't matter now would it?" She spun on her heels to face the exit, "There are only two things that could happen if you followed me; one, I may take you to the Shredder himself or two, I may help you find your friends and brothers. All the doors will be closing soon, so choose quickly." She stated running off.

Raphael groaned, and pulled me up, while Leonardo helped Ayame off the ground, lifting her up in his arms without asking.

"This sucks," the red-masked turtle stated grumpily.

"We've got no choice Raph, we have to get out of here anyway," Leonardo conceded unhappily.

"I know, I know." The turtle grunted in irritation as we followed behind Karai.

* * *

><p><em>How much of a cliffhanger do you want?<em>

_Criticisms are welcomed. Okay ;-)_


	10. Gum & Wires

_Hi there. Okay I have to say muchas gracias to all my readers & supporters! Or in other words ;Thank you so much! (^_^)_

_Thanks to those who helped me out on this brain busting Chapter that gave me a headache and writer's block. I blame Shredder!_

_I do not own TMNT but I do own the Takahashi's since I made them up. _

* * *

><p>(OROKU SAKI)<p>

_I remember the first time I heard the name Shredder. It was said in a different tongue at that time. That was when I was stranded on this pitiful planet by my own kind, who thought they could get rid of me. Them and their weak ways; they should have killed me when they had the chance._ _We were in Feudal Japan; a place that had almost seven hundred years of senseless killing and fighting between the classes. All for one thing; a ruler. _

_I wanted to give them that, but I had bigger things in mind. I wanted revenge against all those who dared call themselves 'Utrom'. Weaklings. We could have ruled the galaxies. We could have been the most powerful race in existence, but no. They had to be poisoned by peace, remorse and morality. Nothing could have been more repulsing. _

_During my early years on this planet, opportunity sprung its head when something supernatural happened. A demon was born out of the turmoil and destruction occurring on that island. Something only a few witnessed. A small group, comprising of five humans, was selected to defeat the monster. It seemed like a futile task to me, but in the end they won; only to lose one of their members to the demon. The two were reborn as one and were called the Tengu Sherudda ._

_I saw how the people groveled in fear of the demon. They were too terrified to speak its name, even after several years of him being defeated. I wanted that kind of power for myself. The power to strike fear into souls by just the mention of my name, the power to pierce one's heart with terror, and take away their will to fight back. That is why I became what I am today. _

I smiled as my four prisoners watched the video feed of their friends and family being handled by my soldiers, and waited for their responses. I had my team provide them with the laptop equipment they needed for their task at hand. The laptops were on a wireless server, so it was simple to have them view the video feed as they worked.

Donatello was the first to tear his eyes away from the screen. "My brothers will fight back and win. You know this, why bother to have them fight at all?"

"Because my men at least deserve their revenge for the insurmountable amount humiliation you four have served them over the years. Do not worry cretin. Your turn will be next. Besides, by the time I'm ready for you four, you would be too exhausted to fight."

His green hairless eyebrow rose upwards. "-And the girls. They're innocent in this. Why threaten their lives at all? You already have us."

The turtle was a bit calmer than I had expected. A bit too calm for my taste and it made me wonder what had changed.

"They are to serve as motivation. You should know that." I said coldly, and then I looked at Nicole, "Now you have fifteen minutes to break your father's code, or else your sister and cousin falls. You did it before. Do it again."

The four of them stiffened.

"Fifteen minutes! Are you mad?" April glared at me with her ever so green eyes. They burned with courage; strength and rage that made me want to smile.

"We can't do that?" Nicole protested.

"It could take hours." Keiko added for emphasis. The three humans were still staring at me, while Donatello's eyes flickered with interest over the screen. Frowning at his actions, I turned to my own video feed. To my displeasure, those cursed turtles and their human friend were faring well against my ninja.

I simply stared at the events unfolding before my eyes on the screen; to the point where the one of my men accidentally disabled the security walls, when he tried to behead Michelangelo. From then on things took a turn for the worse.

"Master, we are awaiting your orders -" The ninja beside me began, but I silenced him with a closed fist.

"No, wait. They won't try to leave, not without these four anyway."

I approached the glass that stood between me and the prisoners, "You and your brothers will die at my hands on this day. However, in the meantime, you've got ten minutes to give me what I want. The clock is ticking."

The purple masked turtle gritted his teeth, "Let the girls go Shredder. I will crack the code, but only if you set them free. There's no need to keep all of us here. We both know that I am capable of doing what they can do and more."

His green skin glistened from the water he was doused with, and it enhanced the physical features that marked long years of training and fighting. To me it was just a waste of power. They could have been in my liege, bringing down my enemies and training my men, but no. They had to be the impudent pestilence that plagued my entire work.

Though this creature had an aptitude for negotiating, I did not need this inferior creature telling me what I should do. _How dare he?_

I pressed the remote and the purple-masked turtle and the humans dropped to their knees in pain as the raw energy surged through their bodies. The jolt was short lived; only enough to summon stifled agonizing cries from my captives.

"Do as you are told turtle, or everything you know and love will be destroyed before your eyes."

"Your threats mean nothing to me. You cannot break me." The terrapin glared at me. His general air was irrepressible, and I gave him credit for that, but it won't last for long. Not while I am alive.

I snorted at him. "I will break you; I will crush every single one of you." I knew what he was trying to do, but it wasn't going to work. The women in the cell weren't as resilient as the ninja and I knew that he wouldn't risk their lives just to antagonize me.

"Why do you want this code deciphered so much? What is in it for you? What does it lead to Shredder?"

"You will ask no more questions!" I was tired of his persistence, as well as his presence. "Crack the code and I may let you live."

"You can't win this Shredder. I won't allow it." The turtle asserted, and I scoffed at his remark, and turned my back on him. On the monitor, Leonardo and his companions had already over powered my men, and were about to rescue the two women hanging from the crane.

"Go." I motioned to the masked man next to me.

The ninja bowed and left my side promptly.

I knew that Leonardo and the others couldn't get far, and I also knew that they wouldn't leave without their brother. I glanced back at the prisoners, "Seems like your family's lives will come to an end much sooner than we expected."

My words reached their ears and I saw the small tentative flinches in each one of my captives. Their wary eyes were trained on the live video links, watching the others carry out their valiant yet futile efforts.

The scene changed when the Foot soldiers entered the area and began firing at the group of escapees. _It would be a shame if they died that way rather than by my blade, but thus is war. _I began walking out of the room, when the obstinate turtle's voice came again.

"If you kill them now, then what's the point in us doing this then?" He asked staunchly.

"To save yourselves," I stated bluntly.

"I would rather die than grant the request of the man who is responsible for killing my relatives." The purely Japanese girl spat indignantly. I tilted my head in shock at the sound of her voice. Her words were infused with aristocracy and her posture screeched dignitary.

_Ah. I see the young woman's true nature have emerged._ I smiled at her, although she couldn't see me.

"So would I." Her cousin added in her American intonation.

"Well, you already know me." The red-headed female folded her arms across her chest, and stood defiantly.

The turtle smirked, and his eyes told a tale of success.

"As you wish," I bowed at them and pressed the remote which allowed me to hear their voices scream. It filled the room, vibrating across the glass and steel floor. Nothing sounded as authentic as this; not even those artificial noises made by actors in those horror films. This was the real thing, and not someone forcing a blast of air through their tightened vocal cords.

Suddenly one mouth formed actual words. "Stop, you're killing them." Donatello clenched his jaw and breathed heavily while he tried to ignore his discomfort.

The women fell to the floor twitching, as their muscles reacted involuntarily to the stimuli.

"They said that they would rather die Donatello. I am granting their wishes."

His stare turned dark and his eyes narrowed with vehemence. "No. I can do it. I will crack the code, just let the others go free."

"Donny." Looking over the turtle with imploring eyes, the female with the fiery hair decided to contend his decision. "Don't do this."

She rose slowly off the floor, shaking like a newborn foal that stood up on its legs to take its first steps. The anthropomorphic reptile ignored her, and kept his eyes locked on me.

"Well?" He challenged me.

Before I could answer him, a voice came over the intercom steeped with urgency. "Master, the crane, it crashed with two of the turtles and the women on it. They fell into vat number four, and the system flushed itself. I'm not sure if they survived, but I sent a team down there to confirm."

My jaw tightened as a mixture of rage and disappointment rolled over inside of me. _They better not be alive, for if they are, Leonardo and his brothers will find themselves coming to something far worse than death itself._

"What about the other turtle and their friend?"

"We've recaptured them. What do you want us to do with them?"

"Hold them. I will be there to deal with them personally." I told the ninja and turned to Donatello. "I am not setting anyone free. You will do as I say or else I will make you watch your brother and friend die."

The turtle's eyes betrayed no fear and he spoke no words, but his stature displayed his strong will. He was trying to show me that I could not break him.

The women however, were trying to keep their composure. Their loved ones' lives were either threatened or they were feared dead. Whichever the case, it was a good reason for them to be deeply troubled.

"I expect to see results when I return." I stated, walking out of the cell area.

* * *

><p>(NICOLE)<p>

The pain blinded me as every nerve in my body was assaulted by this _mad man's_ prison, and I prayed for this day to end. I wished for either this nightmare to end or my life itself. I have never wished such a thing in my life, but it suddenly became more appealing when I recovered from the last electrical shock, and saw the crane on the screen hanging off the side of the platform; all mangled and destroyed, without my sister and cousin on it. They had fallen off along with the turtles that were trying to get them to safety.

The man in the metal armored suit simply reinforced his demands and walked away, leaving us to our own inner battles. Keiko's brows furrowed deeply, as her eyes searched the screen feverishly for any sign of our siblings, but the camera's range was limited to just that level. Nothing beyond the platform could be seen, which allowed worried minds to imagine the worst.

April's facial expression looked somewhat distraught, but she seemed to distract herself by focusing on the strong minded turtle that was trapped here with us. Somehow having him around her; seemed to give her some sense of hope. False hope if I had anything to say about it. I was sure that Donatello was distressed about his brothers as we were, but he never showed it. His frame never faltered, except for the tiny creases formed between where his eye brows were supposed to be.

"What do we do now?" Keiko asked, giving up her search for our family members on the cursed screen.

The purple masked turtle moved to one end of the room and knelt down near the wall. "We get out of here; then we find the others. It's time for this to end," he stated as a matter of fact. His eyes scanned the ceiling for a few seconds before he jumped up and broke something off from it. When he landed he beckoned to April, "You wouldn't happen to have a wire on you, do you?"

Her eyebrows shot upwards. "Excuse me?"

Sighing regrettably, he waved his hand dismissively. "You know a wire…"

"A _wire_ - why would she have a wire on her?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I need a wire and the rubber lining of a shoe. I want to go out on a limb and assume that you _have_ a wire in your bra April." Donatello's face was solemn as he watched the woman's face scrunch up in disapproval.

_Ah yes. Why didn't I think of that?_ I wanted to laugh but couldn't bring myself to do it. Keiko looked at the two of them strangely, confused by his strange request.

"There are two other women in here with us Don, in case you haven't noticed. Why'd you ask just me?" She placed her hands on her hips and stood with feet apart to look more demanding. Judging from the intensity of her stare, she wasn't going to let the turtle off without his justification.

He scoffed at her behavior and a roguish look registered in his eyes before he stretched his hand out for the wire. "…Because I know you longer April, was that the answer you were looking for?"

"Yes Donny," she replied, rolling her eyes and turned away to rip the piece of metal from her bra. "Just give me a second to remove the wire and destroy my very best and most comfortable bra; not to mention, most _expensive_ bra," she muttered distastefully.

"Hey I'll pay you back for it okay," the turtle smirked.

April huffed, and handed the wire over. "No, no. You don't need to."

"Thanks," Don offered an apologetic smile as he took the item from her. "Now, let's see if we could turn Shredder's cage against him," he said, slipping a two-toned stick of gum out from underneath his belt.

Puzzled by the odd assortment of items, Keiko frowned. "What are you going to do with chewing gum?"

"This, my dear, is not gum," he explained, once again kneeling down at the glass wall of the room. "It's an explosive I created and disguised as a stick of gum. When I mix the two compounds together," he pointed at the two contrasting colors of the strip, and started squishing them into one paste, "...it forms something that is quite similar to C4."

"C4?" Now I was scared for my life. "You're gonna blow us up?"

He chuckled and continued wrapping the paste around the wire, giving it his undivided attention. "No. With a little bit of luck, I should be able to short out the wiring in the floors and shatter this glass."

I glanced at April, who wasn't the slightest bit bothered by the turtle's confession or current activity, and then at my cousin. She looked just as horrified as I felt and shrugged helplessly.

"What about the code?" I asked looking back at the computers they had brought for us. "What if he returns and we're not done?"

"Huh," he sounded a bit annoyed by the question. "I don't want Shredder to get his hands on it, whatever _it _is. You think what he's doing now is bad, but trust me when I say that whatever it is he's looking for, would mean far more trouble for us than this."

His statement was final and I didn't bother to press it any further.

"But, I've got an idea," I said moving towards one of the computers.

"Which would be?" The turtle was still concentrating on his bomb.

"Trust me okay," I opened up the files on the laptop and began searching for decoding programs that Saki's scientists might have used. There were several, and all of them were quite advanced in their designs. However, none of them possessed the ability to translate my father's symbols.

After working for forty-something hours with Donatello, April and Keiko on beating the code, I began remembering the symbols that my father had taught me. He had this strange tendency to present me with these odd little puzzles throughout my childhood, and ask me to solve them. This began when I was twelve, and continued until I was sixteen, when he felt that the new ones no longer proved to be much of a challenge for me.

He even tried them on Mya, but my sister never bothered with them. She would pass them on to me after five minutes of staring at it. They came in different forms, and progressed with the advance of technology. The earliest sets were just simple grids drawn on a piece of paper, and eventually evolved into complicated computer games. Mastering them and learning all the symbols took time, but by then my father had perfected his 'alphabet'.

With this knowledge in mind, I began modifying the source code on one of the programs.

"Nicole," my cousin's voice caught hold of my attention. She was standing next to me looking down at the computer screen with concern etched into her face. I didn't respond to her and continued with what I was doing.

"You are going to enable that program with those modifications, you know that don't you?"

"Uhm – yes, but I have to do this first before I start making the source code unreadable," I explained to her.

"What are you doing?" Donatello asked from his corner where he was working on breaking us out of prison.

Keiko's brow arched as though a light bulb lit up in her head. "I get it now," she smiled at me, knowingly.

"You're creating a virus aren't you?" April leaned in closer to get a better look.

"Yeah, and now," I paused to test the program out on the code. Unlike before, this new and improved program went into action immediately and began deciphering the digitized code. "I need Donatello to work his magic, if he could tear himself away from his bomb," I looked over my shoulder at the turtle.

He pushed some wires down into a crease, and stood up turning his masked face towards me. "I'm done. All we I have to do now, is trigger it," he stated, approaching us with a worried look on his face. "What do you want me to do?"

His brown eyes roamed over the small window in which the code was broken down to reveal commands that generated the other program with the Battle Nexus characters. When it was completed, I moved to allow the _genius _terrapin to do his work.

"Just do what you did before to get that embedded file; the one with the map." I delegated.

Without a beat, his thick fingers moved over the keyboard, and his hairless brows furrowed as he concentrated. "You messed with the source code…it's a bit discontinuous in structure, so I have to be a bit more careful with this. Nice job by the way," he approved my work, and went into a silent mode; biting on his tongue.

In that brief moment, we were on edge, anticipating the return of the Shredder in his gleaming metal suit. The computer beeped when the file came up, and Donatello stopped to observe his handiwork.

"Right, so what do you have in mind for this thing now?"

"Send it to this computer Donatello-san," Keiko moved to the next laptop. "I will hack into their system from here and open it. That bug should crash all their systems."

"But before she opens it, we'll disconnect this one from the server," I stated, explaining my plan for the program.

The turtle smiled and sent the corrupted file for Keiko. "Alright, file sent, but I want you to hold on that thought okay. I've got something else in mind as well," then he disconnected the computer from the network, and shut it down. "If I'm thinking what you're thinking, then we're keeping this one, right?"

"Right," I replied, as the purple-masked flipped the machine over into April's hands.

Suddenly, all the equipment crashed to the floor when Don pushed everything off the mobile station. "You two, climb up here," he instructed, pushing the thing to the far eastern corner of the bleached cell.

We didn't bother to question him, and climbed on top of the table, turning around to watch him move back to the other station.

"What's he doing?" I asked the woman beside me. She had the laptop pressed against her as if it were a child in her arms.

"Just watch," she said with resignation.

"Just how many adventures have you been on with these guys? You look like you've seen it all." I told her.

She smirked and adjusted the laptop in her arms. "Not _all_, just enough to last a lifetime."

I had no response to that, and glanced at my cousin and the turtle.

He guided her as she hacked into the system, and took control over the mouse a couple of times before feeling satisfied that they had accomplished their mission.

Then he gently tugged on her arm to pull her away from the machines, and they climbed on top of the station with us.

"I gained control over the electrical wiring in the floor and made it into my own detonation device. I set it to activate in fifteen seconds, so everybody cover your heads, and-"

His words were instantly cut off by a loud blast, along with a blinding white flash. Heat and debris hurled at us violently, forcing us to fall down as the force jolted the station over. We were jammed against the wall, with the table overturned, leaning over us. April was huddled over the laptop and kicked at the pieces of wood that were lying across her feet.

Keiko and I began pushing bits and pieces of rubble away from us, but we were still 'sheltered' by the table.

Donatello pushed himself back, using his shell to dislodge the work station, and capsize it. Falling back; it groaned, and crashed on the floor, breaking off chunks of its legs in the process.

He stood up and lent a hand to April, who had already begun scolding the ninja.

"I thought you set it to fifteen seconds. That wasn't even five seconds!" She stumbled over the broken bits and pieces, and stared at the turtle ghastly. "…And look at this. Were you trying to kill us?"

He grinned impishly and shrugged, "I'm sorry. The explosion was supposed to be smaller. Much-much smaller."

Fumbling to climb over the stuff, I followed Don and April to the new opening, where the glass once stood. It was completely shattered by the blast. The door near it was also partially damaged. "Why did you have us stand on the table instead of using it as a cover?"

"I used the controls for the floor, remember. If I had made a mistake, then we would have been fried instead. That's why I had to take that precaution. I didn't plan on the blast being this dangerous."

"Do you have any more of that exploding chewing gum on you?" Keiko hopped over part of the other work-station and ambled up to my side.

April and the turtle turned and raised their brows at her.

She dusted her clothes off absentmindedly, and shrugged. "I just think that it would come in handy, that is all," she flipped her hair out of her face and stepped ahead of them. Stopping short, she turned around and gestured at the exit with her hand. "We are going to find the others, are we not?"

The others were confused by her mannerism; unaware that she was just putting on a face to hide her anxiety to find our sisters. Keiko may be a tad bit enthusiastic at times, but she was not one to stall or go around in circles. She liked to get to the point and get working on whatever is at hand. With an unsmiling face, she stood there, waiting for us to get on our way.

"Yes," Don tilted his head slightly, and took the lead. "Follow me, and stay close."

April passed the laptop to me and gave me a thoughtful look, "With the Foot's systems down, they'll be on a blood hunt for that. So I suggest you keep it hidden as best you can." She pulled off my jacket and covered the laptop with it, pressing it into my arms while we were trying to keep up with the turtle's pace.

I wrapped it up, and clung to it as my life depended on it. Which may be true, at this point in time, since the information stored on it could very well guaranteed our freedom. "I got it, I got it." I shrugged April's fussing off, and hopped ahead of her to get away.

Suddenly the alarms sounded, and I froze as fear locked its jaws onto me. We were in some kind of passage way that led away from our holding cell, and it was blocked off by a double steel door with a pin code lock. Leaning closer to the device, Donatello rubbed the back of his neck and flicked the panel.

"There aren't any impressions on the over used numbers, so that means that this was recently installed. It'd take me forever to guess the correct pin," he looked disappointed over the small issue, but quickly recovered and ripped the top off. "Where there're wires, there's a way," he smirked.

"That's a new one," April observed.

The turtle unsnapped some wires, and rearranged them causing the light to turn green with a shrill beep. The doors instantly slid open, and my stomach flipped at the horror scene before us.

Don growled softly, "Crap. No, no, no." His fingers quickly worked at the wiring, as a group of Foot ninja stood there facing us. Seeing them was not at all what we expected, but they were not the focus of my attention at the moment. In the corner of my eyes Keiko doubled over and retched, while April turned and looked back at me with a deep unsettling look in her eyes.

_No!_ Screaming in my mind, I lunged forward into the room, without regard for whoever was there. I felt a hand trying to pull me back by my shirt, but they lost their grip as I scrambled to reach my father's naked body. His chest and stomach were pulled open, and the red flesh fell back on the sides, exposing his insides to the world. He looked so pale and dead. He was dead.

The crushing weight of that realization snapped me back to reality and I found myself in the path of a masked man, whose fist was traveling to my face. There was a blur of green, as the man's arm was caught mid-flight, and he collected a blow to the jaw.

He fell flat, only to be replaced by others that rushed in. I had to duck as Donatello stopped the men, and blocked their attacks.

The turtle sent one assailant down with a kick, and drove an elbow into another's chest. "Nicole. The exit; run!" he shouted, defending himself against the ninjas. I spun and stumbled out of the way, almost crashing into Keiko. She snatched my arm and pulled me towards the exit, as April jumped between us to block the attack of a masked man.

She dodged and ducked his jabs and kicks; and delivered a couple of her own with speeds that equally matched his. He caught a roundhouse kick in his stomach, and fell back on the floor. Then jumping to his feet, he reached for his tonfa; however was too slow on the draw. April ran up and kicked him again, knocking him out cold.

Brushing her hair out of her face, she scoffed, "Ugh. If you only know how much I hate you guys." Turning around, she signaled us to keep moving, and was interrupted by another fighter. They engaged in hand to hand combat, while Donatello claimed a Bo staff for himself and swept the feet of April's opponent out from under him. He fell with a thud, and the pair turned to face the remaining few.

I hurried behind my cousin as we headed for the exit, and glanced back at my father's body. "Keiko," I started, half wanting to beg her stay or at least let me drag my father's body out of here, but I decided against it. "Do you know where you're going?"

She shot me a puzzled look just as we burst through the doors and found ourselves in a lonely corridor. It was sealed off, and a red light flashed rhythmically with the alarms.

"That was a dumb question," I stated breathlessly, still clinging to the laptop in my arms.

"I agree with you," Keiko smiled at me.

A loud bang made us spin around to see Don and April closing the door behind them. They sighed with relief; apparently victorious in their fight, and moved urgently to the next door.

"Think you can get it open Donny?" April asked.

Donatello placed his left palm on the door and stared at the lock. "Yeah, but I'm afraid we'll just meet more Foot on the other side…" His voice trailed off as his eyes scanned the length of the hallway. Then he moved back twelve paces and stopped.

We followed the turtle and stood near him, trying to see what he was looking at.

Seeing nothing significant, Keiko spoke up. "What is it Donatello-san?"

"It – It's a different color," he placed both his hands on the wall, and began feeling it.

Confused by his actions, the three of us stared at the wall blankly for a few moments before seeing the tiniest color difference between this part of the wall and the other.

"Do you think it's some kind of hidden passage way?" April queried, stretching her hand to feel the wall as well.

He didn't respond; and without warning the turtle stepped back and kicked the wall in. A large rectangular section crashed in and plunged down into a dark shaft. After a few seconds we heard the distinct sound of the material crashing into a thousand pieces.

"It's an abandoned elevator shaft," Don noted, sticking his head in to look up and down.

"Yes, and it's a long way down." April held a skeptical gaze and shifted on her feet.

"There should be numbers painted for each story, so we'll need to keep track of them as we go down. When Keiko and I were hacking into their system, we discovered that we were on the twelfth floor, and the only place that the crane and platform could be installed, was on this mega-story that was comprised of the floors between the sixth and second floor."

_Climb down that he says._ I swallowed involuntarily and stepped back from the dark opening. Don noticed and arched one eye ridge. "You're not afraid of heights are you? He directed the question at both of us.

"Me, no," I replied honestly. "It's just dark. That's all."

He looked a bit worried at my answer and turned to my cousin for hers.

"I am a competitive diver, Donatello-san. If I ever had a fear of heights, it is long gone now," Keiko shrugged.

"Good. 'Cause this may also serve as a way out," he said offering his arm to help April climb down on the inside. I made a pouch out of my jacket for the laptop, and strapped it to my body by tying the sleeves around my waist.

Then we carefully lowered ourselves into the shaft with his help, and began climbing down. Inside was dark and musty, and I had to stop my breathing several times to prevent myself from sneezing.

Finally April came upon the door that led to the second floor, and like before, it was sealed off. "Don," she turned to the turtle for his input.

The turtle simply nodded, and pointed at a large air vent was located. "We go through there," he stated.

"Oh," she climbed back up, and both she and Don pried off the covering of the vent.

"Ladies first," he said, extending his hand for either one of us to take.

"You're such a gentleman," April teased the turtle.

Keiko went in first, then April, and then me. By the time my feet crossed the edge of the opening, I sneezed and the place shook. In fear, I flattened my body against the floor of the vent, and loud snap was heard.

I spun around wildly when I heard Donatello's yell. One of the cables snapped and whipped him across the arm. He slipped with the blow and fell, catching himself by one arm.

"Donny!" April cried, trying to climb back out for the terrapin.

Being the closest to the edge, I held my hand out for him, "Take my hand."

He stretched his arm out to reach mine, when another snap was heard, and the cable hit both of us. It caused him to lose his grip, and he fell down into the darkness.

"No!" I screamed into the shaft, stretching my bleeding arm out for the already lost turtle.

* * *

><p><em>Muhahahaha! :-) Up next: What's going on with Mikey &amp; Casey, and will Donatello survive the fall? *gasps* O_O<em>


	11. Dragons & Jewels

_Thanks K-Lynn. _

_Thanks for reading guys!_

_I do not own anything but the plot and the Takahashi's. Okay._

* * *

><p>(APRIL)<p>

A snap was all I heard, and then came another sound; like that of a giant whip cracking. I froze inside of the vent and turned around half-way, limited by the amount of space we had. I saw Donny's green hand slip down, and the turtle disappeared from my view. _No._

"Donny!" The words left my mouth before I even thought about saying them. I honestly thought that he had fallen, and felt relieved when I saw Nicole turn around and lean over. She was reaching down for him; telling him to take her hand. I tried to squeeze past Keiko to get to him and Nicole.

Suddenly there was another snap, and the broken cable whipped down in a flash, striking both the human and reptile, causing the turtle to lose his grip and fall towards whatever lay in the darkness below.

"No!" Nicole's cry echoed through the shaft and vent, and I pulled her back to look down for the purple-masked ninja. My heart raced in my chest, sending shudders throughout my body; and fear staked its claim over me.

_Keep it together April. Just stay calm. _I breathed in and out trying to keep myself from crumbling then on, and started climbing back out of the vent.

"April, what are you doing?" Nicole's hand wrapped around my arm above the elbow and she tried to pull me back.

"Let go. I have to go down there. He could've survived the fall," my voice sounded unconvinced, but I had to know for sure. "You guys stay here. I'll be back," I said trying to pull free from the girl's grip.

She tightened her grip on my arms and tugged on me gently, yet beseechingly. "No, don't go down there April. I'm sorry, but I don't think anyone could have survived that fall." She looked down into the shaft with lost watery eyes. She thought that he was already dead.

_No._

Both she and her cousin wore worried sympathetic looks in their eyes, and it triggered a bit of anger inside of me. I didn't need their sympathy. Donatello doesn't need their sympathy or mournful looks. He may not even be dead. _Don't look at me like that!_ I wanted to scream at them. I yanked my arm from her clasp. "Don't think like that. You don't know my boys," I stated frankly, thinking about him using his ninjutsu skills to stop himself from falling. He has to be down there.

She shut her mouth and nodded after I shot her a glare that meant 'let me be'. I didn't care what they thought about me at the moment, and clearly I was not going to leave Donatello behind. I pushed my body halfway down into the shaft and used my foot to feel around for the ledge. As soon as my foot landed on it, Keiko called out to me.

I stopped, granting her a puzzled look.

"April-san, wait." She moved closer to the end of the vent and cocked her head to one side, as she listened to something. "Do you hear that? Come here." she beckoned us with her hand.

Nicole moved back, and I crawled back into the vent to listen. "What is it?" I asked, trying to listen for whatever she had heard. The sound distant voices echoed as they bounced across the metal walls, and I froze when I recognized whose they were.

"You guys need to lighten up," Casey's coarse voice grunted, and painful gasp was heard. My breath caught in my throat as I feared for my husband, and I hurriedly moved towards the voices coming through the ventilation shaft.

Michelangelo scoffed, "Please, these idiots don't know the meaning of the word. Hey you, why don't you let us go so we can fight it out, one on one to the end. What'd ya say? I'd like to take a shot at your ass for shooting the crane and making it blow up. Leo and Raph were on that thing. If I find out that they're dead, you'd better hide your ugly face."

In my opinion, Mikey's tone sounded as though they could cut like the edge of a knife, and it worried me even more. He was veering on the notion that there was a possibility that they couldn't have survived that fall; and he was struggling to maintain his optimism. _They're tough Michelangelo, I'm sure they're somewhere down there. Like Donatello. _Pain started to tear at my throat again. _I just need to convince myself of that as well._

"Shut up!" a strange male voice commanded, followed by the sound of someone being slugged in the jaw. A growl ensued and a sharp rasp of pain met my ears. I cringed at the sound, and pulled myself along the vent, until I was over an opening.

Looking down, I saw Casey and Michelangelo kneeling on the ground before a group of Foot ninja, and their arms were tied behind their backs. The homosapien and terrapin looked battered and bruised; and they were bleeding from extensive cuts. The ninja moved again to hit Mikey, and kicked him down on his plastron. His breath caught as he held in his cry of pain.

"April," Nicole whispered my name with a trembling voice. I kept my eyes locked on my family members below us, trying to think of the best way to save them. I was torn into three different directions as I wondered how I was going to save them, get down to Donatello in time, and find the others. _Gosh it sucks to be the one woman heroine. _I sighed quietly.

"April, what are we going to do?"

I turned to look at the younger female beside me. "_We_?" I repeated the word incredulously and sucked air in through my teeth. I had this despondent feeling about the decision I was about to make. "You stay here, I'm going to-"

Before I could finish my statement, Nicole cut me off. "No, we. Don't push us in the background. You're not alone in this. Keiko and I would go down for Donatello. You are going to save your husband and Michelangelo. I've seen you fight," she asserted. "You're gonna have to think fast though," she offered an encouraging smile and began detaching the jacket with the laptop from her body.

Stunned by her vote of confidence in me, I nodded mutely, and watched the two girls slide back to the elevator shaft. _Wish me luck. _I cast my eyes down upon the people below me, and counted the men as I planned my strategy.

Quietly as I could, I slid the covering open, and jumped down on the guy that was holding a kusarigama at Casey's neck. My feet crashed into his shoulder, forcing him down to the ground on his knees, and I snapped his neck. The popping sound it made caused me to wince involuntarily, but at the moment I couldn't afford to let my conscience bother me about it. Urgency and speed was what was required of me. Take them down before they could have time to react. Not even my two family members had the time to process their thoughts into words. They were gaping at me.

My fist then flew to the next soul, who caught a punch to the nose, breaking his nose bridge, and I ducked from the ninjato of another.

As I rolled, I saw Mikey and Casey rise from their knees to attack their other captives. Stealing the kusarigama from my first victim, I launched the chain at one ninja, and brought him down by the neck, like a dog caught on a dog catcher's leash. His face was brought down to my knee level, so it was expected that he'd get in his chin. The jaw probably cracked from the blow, and I guiltily felt proud for doing it. _That's for Donny._ I was taking out my anger on them.

"Looking good April," Mikey teased, doing an arm-less somersault and kicking a ninja in the face.

I glanced at him briefly, not entirely sure how to respond to that, since my mind was racing; trying to make sense of my thoughts and emotions. Five of us were alive and standing, whereas the other five were, well, I'd rather say that their statuses were unknown.

"Yeah, if I didn't know you, I would've thought that you were the 'Black Widow' from Iron Man two," Casey stated, while he kicked a ninja in the stomach and sent the man doubling over. I almost turned to glare at my husband, when Mikey's voice pulled me back.

"April duck!" The orange masked turtle was already running towards me, with his hands tied behind his back. I ducked as a ninjato blade that brushed the top of my hair, and Mikey rammed his shoulder into the ninja. The man grunted when he took the blow, and backed away clumsily before steadying himself. He charged at the turtle with swords drawn.

Michelangelo dodged his strikes and jabs, and used his legs to master some flying kicks that I didn't even know were possible without the use of your arms. Compared to his opponent; he moved at lightning speed.

At that moment, I disarmed a Foot ninja, and crossed paths with an oddly balanced Michelangelo. "Hey guys, I think you need your arms," I held up the kusarigama blade for them to see and smiled impishly. I completely forgot. I also noticed that he had a nasty wound on his thigh that was tied up with a bloodied tourniquet.

The turtle beamed and held his arms out for me. "I don't really think I was doing too badly without them, but it would be much more comfortable." His eyes were drastically imploring in the sense that he was exaggerating.

I sliced the leather band off Mikey's hands, allowing him to dive back into a fray with more ninjas who had just arrived on the scene. I was thankful that these ninjas took enough pride in their weapons to keep them sharpened, and moved to get rid of Casey's binding. As soon as his hands came free, a sudden movement in the corner of my eye, made me put up the blade to block a blow from a heavily armored arm with metal spikes on them. They gleamed, and I saw my reflection in them which felt like they were mocking me.

I pictured asking the Shredder; what were his true intentions when he opted to wear this armor, and I guessed that the answer would be; 'So that you could see your own death.' I scrunched my face up at the thought.

My knees buckled under the force he used against me, and I was forced to drop to one knee.

"You!" The raspy heavy voice came from beneath the helmet. He was angry. "How did you escape? You're the ones responsible for our systems failure," he pressed further, which consequently sent a sharp pain through my strained elbows. Relief came when Casey pushed me out of the way and took on the Shredder himself.

I landed on my side, rolled over, and found myself staring up at another soldier who placed the tip of his spear on my throat. The cold metal tip was pressed against my skin about to draw blood.

"April!" I heard Michelangelo shout my name, but I couldn't respond to it at that moment. He sounded pained and winded; though I couldn't see the turtle to know why. Right now, all I could see was a man with darkened murderous eyes, and a victorious smirk plastered across a heavily scarred face. I raised my chin indignantly, and inhaled a shuddering breathe, ready to accept my death. _Sorry Casey. _The two words flooded my thoughts and brought unbidden tears to my eyes. I welcomed the calm feeling that spread its way through me, as the warm salt liquid trickled down the sides of my face and tread its way around my ears. _Sorry guys._

* * *

><p>(RAPHAEL)<p>

If patience was a virtue, then I had no hopes of ever gaining that. I felt trapped like a rat caught between a snake and a cat, with no escape route. We were inside of the Foot headquarters with no way out, two defenseless women, and an army of Foot soldiers scurrying across the place on the hunt for intruders. Or should I say lost captives.

I knew that we were the center of their initial search, but something else happened. We didn't know what it was, but judging from the locked doors and Karai's frustrated look she shot at the alarms and pin locks, I knew that this was not anticipated. Their security systems were compromised. Everyone was basically running around in a whacked out rat maze.

What I hoped for was that this had something to do with Donny and the others. At least that would keep me sane, knowing that one brother was alive and fighting back the way he knew best. However, the lack of knowledge about the others and their whereabouts had me on edge. I kept my sanity in check by focusing on this woman who had the potential to screw us over any time now. I was just waiting for it.

I watched Karai like a hawk marking its prey; waiting for the right moment to strike. She moved discreetly ahead of me, weapons held at ready, and led us through this maze of a building; in and out of unconventional passageways. I glanced back at Mya who had her worried eyes cast on her cousin. The other girl was breathed with slight difficulty and had her teeth clenched as a result of the pain she bore. _This is ridiculous. We shouldn't be here. They shouldn't be with us._ I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying the words out loud, as Karai disappeared through another door.

"Leo," I called for my brother's attention. He had positioned himself near the doors, and had his attention locked on the activities behind them. His brows furrowed even more as his eyes met mine.

"What is it?" His tone suggested that he expected to hear some bad news, or something about us being under attack.

"We shouldn't trust her. This could just be a trap. I don't like this," I watched his expression change to reveal a small scowl.

"We've been through this already Raph. We have no other choice but to trust her, and I'm hoping that she leads us back to Michelangelo or Donatello even. Trap or no trap, we stand a better chance if we're together." He asserted in his authoritative voice.

"Right," I rolled my eyes at the blue-masked turtle, but the only reaction it drew out of him was a look of concern. Then I noticed that he wasn't looking at me. I turned around just in time to see Ayame slump down to the ground with her back jammed against the wall.

Mya was already down her throat over her injury. "Ayame, we have to get you to a hospital, you can't go on like this. Are you sure Karai can find a way out for us?" She turned her doubtful dark eyes towards us. "You said her ribs could be fractured, but you weren't sure how badly. What if it's broken and stabbing into her lungs? How can you be sure?"

She was referring to the first time he checked, when Karai got us to a place that she thought was safe enough for us to stop; while she went to scout around. Ayame had indicated that she was feeling okay to walk again, but the way she favored her side was glaring. Leonardo hesitated to answer the girl and abandoned his post at the door. "I'm not sure, but it didn't feel like they were broken that way," he reassured her; then he turned his eyes towards Ayame. "Do you mind if Raph takes a look at it this time? We've all had our fair share of broken bones, and have many more to come. So we're supposed to know what to look for in the case of an emergency."

The twenty year old sat there with a frustrated expression on her face and glanced at Mya wearily. "If it will get my dearest cousin off my case; then yes, I do not mind the extra pain I am about to endure," she said satirically.

Flinching, the younger female opened her mouth to protest, but Ayame had already turned to her side, lifting her shirt slightly to reveal the large blue-black bruising that covered the entire rib cage area. It looked pretty bad from my stand point, and my guess was that several of her ribs were fractured.

She winced as my green fingers touched her discolored skin to feel if there were any indentations or severance in the bones. I pulled my hand away, and stood up, to confirm Leonardo's prognosis. "It's just a couple of fractures, no breakage. Leo was right, half-pint," I took the opportunity to mock the kid. "She'll be in a heck of a lot of pain for sure, but her lungs are safe."

"That is great to know," the satirical female moved to stand, when a dark blur blocked me from helping her.

"Karai, what are you doing?" Leo demanded, as I moved to pull Karai away from Ayame.

I held her arm in a firm grip, ready to peel her away from the girl, but stopped when I saw what she held in her hand. Grinding my teeth, I swore inwardly, wishing I could tear the woman's head off her body. I just had a feeling that something like this was going to happen.

The taller green-eyed female held a _kunai _to the younger one's throat, and held her up against the wall with one arm across her collar bone. Ayame stood no chance against the highly trained ninja, and squirmed in pain under the stronger woman's hold.

"Tell your brother to release my arm, Leonardo, or she dies," Karai demanded, turning her head slightly towards me.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Let her go!" I barked, not releasing my grip on the female's arm.

Leonardo stepped forward carefully, and moved a shocked Mya back. "There's no need to kill her," he said calmly. "Just let her go, and explain yourself. You already know that these girls pose no threat to you; plus she's injured. There's no need for force, Karai."

I felt Karai's hand stiffen under my grip, and she tightened her hold on the blade. She wasn't going to let her go anytime soon.

"No," the woman replied stubbornly, before she addressed me. "You know that I will not hesitate to do this, so you should really get your hands off me Raphael. You will understand my actions once I get her to talk. She knows more than she's letting on," she explained giving Ayame a cold stare.

_Right. More riddles. _In my mind this woman was stark raving mad, and I was in no mood to hear what she had to say. I had my fair share of chaos for the day. I glanced at Leonardo to see what he thought about it, and the ninja nodded solemnly.

Disgruntled by his decision, I released Karai's arm and stepped back to hear her out.

"Raphael, no," Mya started, and lunged forward; only to be stopped by Leo's arm. She frowned, giving me a forlorn betrayed look, and mouthed 'no', as she allowed the turtle to keep her back. I shot her an apologetic look, and turned my attention back to Karai who started speaking to Ayame in her native tongue.

"_You bear the mark of the guardian on your back, why? What do you know of the Gates to Heaven? Tell me,_"

Ayame eyebrows shot upwards as she eyed the woman incredulously. "_I do not know what you're talking about. I promise. Just get your hands off me,_" she wriggled again, trying to get out of Karai's grasp.

"This is ridiculous," I cried in exasperation. "You're telling me you're doing all of this to find out about some spiritual bullshit? You've clearly lost it bitch. I've had enough of this crap. Let her go now!" My hand was shaking with rage that was on the brink of exploding.

"What is the meaning of this Karai? What the hell are you talking about?" Leonardo's patience was worn out as well, I guessed. Since my brother was not one to use swear words.

"Remain silent and listen turtle," she snapped, and went on to continue her interrogation. "_Do not play games with me. I saw the tattoo on your back. I know that you know about the Guardian and what it means. Now tell me everything you know about the Gates of Heaven. I already knew that the 'piece' the Shredder seeks is the key to the gate, and it opens it. What I did not know; was that you bore the mark of the Gate Keeper on your back. Which could only mean one thing; you know of the piece and its whereabouts. Where is it located Takahashi Ayame? Where is the piece? You and your family members were apparently charged with protecting it and keeping it safe. Why, I'm not sure, but the world is in danger because of you and your relatives. Your Uncle allowed the Shredder to find out about it. Now tell me everything I need to know about this gate or you'll be sorry you ever met me."_ The female ninja pressed the blade against her skin, causing the girl to raise her chin.

Ayame's eyes narrowed as she spoke. "_I know not of that which you speak. It's just a dragon tattoo as far as I know. I got it when I was sixteen for foolish reasons, and I've always regretted it. Now; even more so. I know nothing of this Guardian and Gates."_

"She's telling the truth. You have to believe her. It was just a dumb tattoo," Mya jumped to her cousin's defense. She turned to me and Leonardo for help, and tugged on his arm for emphasis.

Leonardo went closer to Karai and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Karai, this makes no sense. Release her now. There's no need for this. They're telling the truth."

The ninja turned to glare at the terrapin, "No, you do not understand. They know more than they're telling you. They're lying. Am I right?" She directed her question at Ayame in English. Although, it didn't matter to any of us since we all understood what was said before.

The twenty year old grimaced and shook her head. "No. You're wrong. I do not know anything about this Gate-" she began, but was cut off by Karai.

"You're lying. The dragon on your back is no ordinary dragon. The shape, the coloration, the number of horns on its snout, all of it is specific to the Guardian of the Gates. There is none other like it. If you do not know about it then, why did you get it? Where have you seen the dragon to request a tattoo like that?" she pressed her arm against the girl's neck which caused her to choke slightly, and I was forced to clamp a hand down on Karai's shoulder.

"Okay stop. You're hurting her. I won't stand for this anymore," I growled impatiently. _If you weren't a skilled ninja, I would have pulled your ass away from her so fast, that you wouldn't even have time to slit her throat._

The woman was not fazed by the grips Leonardo and I had on her, and she continued to threaten Ayame with the _kunai_.

"No. Not until she answers me," she asserted.

Ayame sighed through clenched teeth, "Fine. You want answers, then I will give you the answers, but you will have to release me first."

I felt the woman's shoulder relax as she nodded in agreement to Ayame's terms, and then she removed the blade from her neck. The shorter female inhaled sharply, wincing as the pain in her ribs took hold of her. She huddled over, shooting a nasty glare in Karai's direction.

Unmoved by the gaze, Karai made a gesture in the air with her hand. "Well, talk."

"I only got the tattoo to impress a guy who was a street racer, alright. I figured that if I got something unique, he would notice me. I was only sixteen at the time and fascinated by street racing. So I went into our father's office and saw this box. It was about the size of a jewelry box and was covered in gold, with strange carvings all over it," she used her hands to give us an idea of the size of the box, and her eyes grew distant as she recalled the image from her memory.

Mya was at her side looking down at the ground with a frown on her face, listening to her cousin's words. Leonardo and I remained silent, listening intently to what she had to say. I could tell my brother was a bit apprehensive about the new development, by the way he breathed. Deep, long, delayed breaths.

"There was a dragon wrapped around the entire box. Its body was made up of different jewels; stones; that made it look like it had a kaleidoscope of scales. It was very colorful, like a rainbow perhaps; very beautiful, and intricately detailed. I had to take a picture of it. I thought that it was a gift for my mother at the time, so I never opened it to see what was inside. I only wanted the dragon. I knew that something like that would impress….it doesn't matter anyway," she looked at her feet with regretful brown eyes, shaking her head. "That is all I know."

Karai folded her arms as irritation scrawled over her face. "Are you sure, where is the box now?" She continued her tirade.

Ayame's eyes flashed with anger when her head shot up to look into the other woman's face. "Yes, I am sure. However, I do not know where the box is. If it is the same 'piece' everyone seems to be obsessing over, then you will have to solve the code to get its location. I cannot help you there," she finished hotly.

Karai huffed and turned away from her dismissively, "A waste." Then she stomped back towards the door, pulling the Foot mask over her head. "We better get moving then. I told the men that this area was secure, but it won't be long before they double back to check again. Apparently, Donatello, along with your friends escaped from their cell. The Foot soldiers have no idea where they are to begin with, and they've also managed to release a virus into the main control systems by hacking into the computer network. When the systems crashed, it temporarily trapped the Shredder on the tenth floor while he was making his way down to where Michelangelo was being held. The systems are still malfunctioning, so everyone is basically operating by guess and moving wherever random glitches allowed doors to be opened. It's chaotic everywhere, but once we make it through those doors, we'll be right on top of Michelangelo and Jones."

I exhaled, releasing a breath that I didn't realize I was holding; relieved to find out that Don, Mike and the others were okay. I already knew it. However, it felt much better to have it confirmed by someone else, although it came from someone whom I labeled our enemy. Leo nodded at Karai, unclenching his fist from the ninjato he had tucked in his belt at his side, and moved aside to allow her free passage. The turtle had this cool exterior about him, and showed no emotions in his eyes as he watched the ninja. I'd bet every last dollar I owned on the fact that his patience was worn thin, and whatever worry he held over the others, was now partially calmed, by the news.

It made me wonder if the woman knew that she was threading on thin waters with us, and threw out that bit of information to save her ass from being questioned. Her actions and the information she provided thus far, were rather sporadic and vague. The last time we met, we were allies, but now, seeing her in this Foot uniform, it was only natural for us to be skeptical and on guard. At least I wasn't entirely sure if we could trust her. My blue-masked brother however, chose to give her the benefit of his doubt. _Not too wise in my book, brother._

"Karai, next time you want to question someone, you'll do it my way. She was unarmed and injured, yet you chose to go the dishonorable way. I will not stand for it. I appreciate your helping us, but once we get our friends back, our journey ends there," Leonardo said to her in a hushed tone as we went through the doors.

"Finally," I couldn't resist commenting, a deserved a well-earned deadly glance from her.

"Fine, have it you way, Leonardo," she shot back, moving towards a handrail. "But do not seek me out when you realize that you need the painting to overlay the map to find the _piece_. I know that you're in this to find that box before the Shredder does." She climbed over the handrail with a smirk, and jumped down to a catwalk that stretched over the platform a couple feet below. "Are you coming or not?" she looked up at us, and placed her hands on her hips. "I can't wait here all day for you."

At that, a short distance away, another door opened, and hoards of ninjas came streaming out. Their black suits and weapons made them look like an army of ants rushing out from their nest to defend their home. In this case it would be their 'king'.

Leonardo and I were already prepared for battle, when Karai cried out to us. "Hey, get down here!"

I was fuming in my mind; exhaustion and frustration had begun to get the better of me. Every word that came out of that woman's mouth was irritating me, just as it was Leonardo. He however, didn't let it stop him.

"Raphael, Ayame," the turtle instructed, meaning that I had to literally help her down while he watched our backs. Then he turned to Mya, and was about to speak, but was cut off when she waved at him dismissively.

"I can get down on my own, thank you very much," she stated confidently while climbing over the guardrail.

"Wait, do you know what you're doing?" Leonardo asked, trying to stop the human female from jumping.

I had Ayame's arm over my shoulder as we prepared to jump when I saw Mya smirk at the blue-masked turtle and jump off from the handrail. She landed below on both feet, next to an unimpressed Karai. "And that's how you stick a landing," she said proudly.

I was surprised by her feat, since none of them struck me as being athletic before.

Ayame saw my stare and commented. "Gymnast turned cheerleader," she gave her cousin a thumbs up as I supported her for the jump.

"Ah," I laughed when I understood. Since the Ayame was injured, I took most of the weight on me as I propelled us off the railing, and landed on the metal catwalk below.

Leonardo joined us hereafter, and we turned to look back up at the Foot soldiers who were already clambering over the guardrail.

"You two should run. There's an entrance to an air vent all the way across there. Go through it, and it should lead you to an elevator shaft. It's out of commission. Go quickly," Karai pushed Mya forward to urge her on with her cousin; and turned to face the coming men.

Grabbing her cousin's hand, the teen took off in the direction Karai pointed to, as the rest of us stepped back on the shaking catwalk. I braced myself for their wrath, anticipating their vengeful attacks as most of these men were probably demeaned by us in the past.

I held up a ninjato that I had claimed from a fallen ninja who we happened to cross paths with before reaching this point. Suddenly, the metal beneath our feet rocked violently as the first ninja landed in front of us. He landed with one knee bent, the other touching the grating, and his left hand supporting his upper body weight.

I snorted, and the hooded man stood up, revealing his towering height of six-foot-ten. In his right hand he held a katana.

"Damn," I couldn't help staring at him; impressed by his size. The bigger the opponent, the harder they fall. In that brief moment, I saw a flash of blue, and my brother was already in the air, legs outstretched to deliver a flying kick to the man's chest.

With the attack initiated, the walkway rocked again, as more figures in black descended from above. As they landed one by one, Karai and I rushed in holding nothing back. I was in there dodging their strikes, and delivering wounds to any and every body part I saw. Blood sprayed like a warm drizzle of rain from everywhere.

Screams filled the air as men were tossed over the railing to fall several feet before being silenced at the bottom. Leonardo was still doing his 'tango' with the big guy, and collected a weir uppercut to the jaw from the giant. The turtle flew back, and landed on his hard on his shell a short distance away. He didn't move right away, and the tall ninja rushed towards him.

"Aw, hell no. Leo, get up!" I shouted at the blue-masked ninja, driving my fist in the temple of one guy. He went down hard, and I jumped over him to rush to Leo's defense. He stirred a bit; still disoriented from the blow, and was pushing himself up on his elbows. The 'giant' had his katana high up, ready for a vertical strike, when I careened into his back, ramming the sword through his thick muscle.

His back arched as he howled in shock. He gasped, and swung his arms out wide, dropping the weapon on the floor near Leo's feet. The hooded guy, dropped to his knees, gave one last cry, and crashed on his side, shaking the metal flooring beneath us.

Standing up, Leo looked at the man, and then at me gratefully. "I almost had him you know," the turtle said, replacing the gratitude in his eyes with a smug grin.

"Had him where; in that dreamland world of yours?" I asked sarcastically.

He snorted, and immediately switched the ninjato for the katana. I shook my head and laughed at the obsessed turtle. "You just couldn't resist, could you?" I asked, watching him rotate the blade in his hand.

He replied without taking his eyes off it, "No. I miss my own though."

We laughed and turned around to see a lone ninja barreling towards us. He was literally stumbling over his own two feet, and I moved aside to give way to Leo, who ended his suffering temporarily by throwing a right hook in his face.

Karai spun around to look for her lost Foot ninja, as she finished off her other opponent, by connecting a sharp elbow to the guy's skull. He was the last one, and the woman breathed as he collapsed on the ground near her feet.

She cast a thoughtful glance at the incapacitated men around us and arched an eyebrow. "…and here I was thinking that I was doing all the work by myself," she stated generously.

I huffed at the remark and crossed my arms to show her my disenchantment, "We never asked for your help lady."

"No, but they need ours," Leonardo stated as he pointed to the platform where the remains of the fallen crane stood.

"Shit," my stomach sank as I watched the Casey push April out of the Shredder's way only to roll under the spear of another ninja. The black-clothed figure pressed the spear to her throat, while Casey was struck down by Saki, and Michelangelo froze.

_What the hell. This can't be it. We can't lose them that way._ I thought considering the odds against us. _Hell no!_

As if he read my thoughts, Leo signaled with his hands, "Come on, we gotta move," and he took off in their direction. We followed his lead with urgency.

Once we were close enough, we jumped down to the skywalks that were closer to the floor of the platform, and dived off, aiming for the main threats to our family members. The drop felt like I was descending in slow motion, which only made it more so easier to strike my target.

I aimed for the ninja that pressed the tip of the spear to April's throat, while Leo flipped to land between the Shredder and Casey, and Karai landed in a low crouch beside Michelangelo.

I landed beside April, with the blade of the ninjato reaching an inch above her chest. Her eyes widened in shock and fear, before she shot me a harsh glare. I grinned at her and the man, who probably gawked at me from behind his black mask. He suddenly jerked forward when the lower half of the spear detached itself, dropped out, and landed on April due to the force of gravity. I caught the man with my knee and kicked him backwards to prevent the upper half of his weapon from impaling the red-head.

"Foolish reptile, you only returned to meet your death at my hands," Shredder sneered, as he and Leo engaged in their one on one sword duel. It was funny that he always said something like that in different ways. I wondered if he knew that he also mastered paraphrasing. That was a word I picked up from Donatello. My mind suddenly changed its focus on to the _Genius._

"You okay?" I offered a hand to April to help her up.

With an unsmiling gaze, she took it and stood up. "Not really," came her reply.

"Huh," I frowned at the woman's response, and decided to ignore it. "Where are Donny and the others?"

Her face blanched at the mention of his name, and sadness washed over her eyes and she turned away from me. I moved to face her; wanting to know what that look was about. "April where is Donatello? What happened?"

Strange thoughts flooded my head; inundating me with fear. _Why isn't he here, where is he, what happened to him?_ The questions rushed up into my head; hungry and craving for answers, but none were able to escape my lips because both of us had to dodge two ninjas that came at us with _tonfa_.

Everything moved in a blur, because the only thing I could think about was; where the heck was my brother. _Somebody better tell me soon._

* * *

><p><em>I could tell you Raphael, but you'll have to wait till Chapter 12 to find out. Story Alerts Time! Smile guys! <em>


	12. Secrets & Reunions

_Well, the wait is finally over. I give you...Donny._

* * *

><p>(DONATELLO)<p>

I heard my name being called ever so softly. It came again and again, pleading with me to come towards it. There's a light ahead of me. Warm and bright to the point it was almost blinding. I wanted to move my hands to shield my eyes but I couldn't. I was floating in water; or was it air? I didn't know. Everything around me was dark; pitch black to be exact, except for the light at the end. I heard my name again and I decided to go towards it. Probably that's where the sound was coming from. I tried to do a freestyle stroke in this nothing-ness, but I couldn't get anywhere. The matter I was in was thick and heavy. I felt like I was trying to swim through honey.

"Donatello," the voice beckoned again, and this time something extremely warm landed on my shoulder. The sudden heat on my shoulder sent a shock through my reptilian skin and dragged me out of the darkness.

"Donatello-san," the soft voice grew louder in my mind, bringing me out of my deep dream, and suddenly I felt as though I was choking. I gasped greedily, rapidly sucking in the air to fill my aching oxygen-starved lungs. Breathing deeply, I opened my eyes and blinked to see where I was this time. The images I saw were blurred dark shadows hovering over my face. _'What the hell?_' I blinked again to get rid of my skewed vision, and that's when I became aware of the pain in my skull. A white searing pain shot through my head mercilessly, murdering every other sense in me. I gritted my teeth against the grimace that forced its way onto my face.

"Donatello-san, can you hear me, are you alright?" a female voice questioned.

I took a deep breath to clear my mind of the shock from the sudden pain, and gained control over it. Once I'd achieved that, I tried again to focus on the shadows talking over me. The blurring danced and parted away, leaving behind a much clearer picture; illuminated by specs of dim lights. Two women were looking down at me with similar brown eyes. Both looked deeply troubled and worried. _'I hope I don't look that bad_,' I thought concerned.

"Donatello, are you alright?" the female with the American accent asked. Tiny worry lines appeared between her eyebrows as she frowned.

I swallowed before answering. The pain wasn't helping me one bit. Why should it? "I'm okay, Nicole. What happened?" I wasn't sure why I asked that question, but that's what came out of my mouth at the moment. Of course I knew what had happened. The blasted elevator cables snapped and ended up striking me on the arm twice, forcing me to lose my grip and fall. I watched the two cousins exchange fearful looks before turning to answer my question.

"You fell down the elevator shaft; several floors actually. We-uhm- we thought you were gone for sure," Nicole explained. She sounded like she was trying to convince someone with amnesia.

I moved to sit up and winced, biting back my tongue when a new pain stabbed my shoulder. '_Damn_!' I swore inwardly. The women reached out for me on instinct to help me sit up and gritted their own teeth out of sympathy for my agony.

"You are severely injured, Donatello-san," Keiko pointed out. "You shouldn't try to move so suddenly," her gaze was intent and probing. It was something that I often noticed about the twenty-year-old. She would look at me and my brothers with this curious expression on her face and sometimes with great interest. It always made me feel uncomfortable because I didn't like feeling like a bacteria living in a petri-dish under a microscope. I would've told her about it, but I changed my mind when I reminded myself that their stay with us was brief; lasting only a few hours.

"I know, I know," I breathed heavily to speak, choking back the urge to yield to my agony. "I caught myself from falling all the way, but couldn't stop the last drop. I think I fell down just this one story," I said looking up at the distance I fell from. Like me, they looked up, but with unconvinced eyes. They couldn't picture what I'd described to them. How could they? They were just regular humans who had absolutely no idea of what conditioning several years of ninjutsu training could do to the body.

"Oh-kay, but I really do not think that it is wise for you to move," she asserted in a gentle tone.

I agreed with her words but I knew that we did not have the luxury of staying put. My brothers' lives were at stake as well as their siblings. I had to find them, pain or no pain. "I know what you're saying, but we've got to find the others. Where's April?" I asked. I noticed that she was missing from our group and shifted myself into a more upright position against the wall, flaring my injuries in the process.

"She stayed back up there to help your brother Michelangelo and Casey. They were being held captive by some of Oroku Saki's men. I-I hope that they're okay," Nicole said sincerely.

"What?" I demanded, thinking of April taking on a group of Foot ninja. Although, I knew that it was wrong to think of April as a helpless female; I couldn't help myself feeling protective over her. She was fully capable of fending off as many Foot ninja as necessary. Well, at least Master Splinter had that level of confidence in her.

Keiko started to explain but I overrode her, saying, "Never mind. April could handle herself, I'm sure of it, but we need to get back up there. Any of you know how to fix a dislocated shoulder?" The burning in my shoulder was increasing and I wasn't in any condition to bear it once it crossed my threshold.

As suspected, both women shook their heads looking even more stressed than before. _As if they were the ones suffering_. "Well then, today's your lucky day. You get to learn how to do it," I said with a grim smile.

Nicole scrunched up her face and waved her hands about, "I'd rather not," she looked at me apologetically and pushed herself back into the steel beam that stretched up towards the top of the building. "I'd probably make things worse," she clarified. Her cousin looked just as scared of my request.

I nodded in understanding and settled to do the task myself, somehow. I sighed begrudgingly.

"Do not worry, Donatello-san, I will help you," Keiko's timely enthusiasm won me over and I smiled gratefully.

"Alright. Here's what you gotta do, you're gonna have to take my arm, keep it in this ninety-degree position," I already had my arm correctly position, and was working through the discomfort, "and rotate my shoulder and arm inward."

"Okay, I think I got it," she said, nimbly taking my arm in her hands and moving it as instructed.

I clenched my jaw and started grinding down my teeth. '_Maybe this wasn't the best idea, Don_.' I berated myself.

"Now rotate it backwards till my arm is in the opposite position and work the joint back into its socket," I grunted, looking up into the poorly lit elevator shaft. I held my breath as all the muscles of my shoulder stretched to their limits in a twisted agonizing manner. I swore on the inside while Keiko coaxed the bones back into place. I felt a pop and relief came instantly, but the pain remained, however lessened.

"Thanks," I muttered rubbing the sore area of my arm.

"You are welcome, Donatello-san," Keiko's smile showed her immense relief.

"What about your head?" Nicole pointed out, "You've got a nasty cut there," she stated.

"I'm fine, really," I began, looking at the blood-smeared block I hit my head against when I landed on top of the elevator. I remembered feeling the blunt impact before the black out. Fortunately for me, the elevator was already grounded so there wasn't the risk of falling even further to crash to the ground beneath. I shuddered at the thought. "Come on, we gotta move," I said decisively. Given the condition of my arm, I wasn't sure how I was going to make it back up to where we started. Going up the multi-story wall would require some innovative thinking.

"You're going to scale _this _with just one arm?" Nicole asked after hopping onto the excess beam that jutted out from the wall to form a tiny platform. "I figured that it might be better if we try to get out from here," she said, leaning her body forward as she tried to force two doors open. "If we're lucky, we'll find a staircase or maybe a working elevator," she grunted, wedging her fingers into the tiny space between the metallic doors.

I was amused by her actions because she seemed pretty determined to get them open. Shaking my head, I jumped across to join her on her perch. The jolt caused my injury to flare up and I forced back the pained expressions that wanted to make its debut. In situations like this, pain was a minor and insignificant detail since we had other issues to handle. For one, we needed to locate our friends and family.

"I don't think you'll get it to work that way, Nicole," I cocked my head to one side as she tugged at the frame in futile.

"I'm with the _kame_," Keiko added laughing, "There is no way you'll get them to open. Besides, April and the others are that way." She pointed upwards and twirled her finger around in the air, "I think we will get to them faster if we climb."

With her nails squeezed between the space, Nicole leaned backward and huffed, "Well, you two go that way. I'll go this way to look for Mya and the others or have you forgotten about them?" She shot a quick glance into the emptiness behind us and wrinkled her nose at the stagnant musty, rust-stained air with giant cobwebs draping lazily about like feather curtains. She then distanced herself from it and leaned back into the doors.

Then it hit me; she had a slight case of claustrophobia. Although it wasn't completely black, Nicole appeared to be uncomfortable with the lack of light. I sympathized with the girl. However, she forgot about one major detail of which I had to remind her. I opened my mouth to ask her how she was going to deal with Shredder's ninjas; when the doors suddenly separated, spilling fluorescent light into the shaft, knocking her off her balance. Before I could react, Nicole tumbled head first through yellow caution tape into a deserted corridor.

I stepped in behind her and helped her up with my able arm, "You alright?" I asked observing the vacant passageway. The beige walls were divided at intervals by dark auburn block columns, and a red carpet lined the floor all the way through. Black tapestries hung down to the ground from the middle of each wall segment, giving the area a mournful look. The Foot's signature dragon claw sat at the middle of each tapestry, constantly reminding passersby of who owned this place. I immediately felt misplaced and wanted out. _We shouldn't be here._

"What the hell?" Nicole gawked at the interior design, turning around to take it all in.

"It looks like an ancient Emperor threw up in here right after he had a tantrum," Keiko stumbled awkwardly unto the red carpeting.

"What the heck is _that_ supposed to be anyway?" Nicole went up to get a closer look at the embroidered symbol on the wall. The threads glistened as the emergency lights flashed on and off to the music of the wailing sirens.

"That, my friend, is a warning. It means to get the hell away from here," I said turning just in time to see Keiko pull up one of the wall decorations. "Keiko, what are you doing?" I walked up to her while she ducked her head behind the thick decorated material.

"I felt a draft coming from behind this one," she replied casually stepping behind the dark tasseled cloth. "There is some kind of room back here," she clarified for both Nicole and I.

I followed Keiko, grabbing the tapestry to pull it open. What I saw behind, was something out of the ordinary. I should have known that there were secret passageways in this place. The Shredder surely ensured that this new headquarter was not lacking in any way. What Keiko found was a small room, lit by hundreds of white candles that floated in tiny plain glass holders.

The cream walls of room glowed in the warm orange hue of the flames that danced on their candle wicks. The floor was made up of polished wood, and one large black flag adorned the wall at the end of the room. Like the tapestries, it carried the mark of the Foot. There were five small glass display pedestals arranged in a pentagon, and one was crowned with a copper scroll case.

My curiosity was instantly sparked, and I went to the scroll ignoring whatever danger that may be lurking within that room. The copper was scratched and dented, giving it an aged appearance; and tiny golden lines traced the flawed metal, forming intricate patterns of loops and flowering vines. At one end, a jeweled dragon nestled itself around the edge of the covering, forming some kind of seal over the top. Where its tail ended, was a tiny key hole; rimmed with gold. The case alone was probably worth a fortune. I wondered how much more valuable was the thing contained inside.

"Looks like the Shredder re-started his antique collection," I mumbled warily, moving around the room, anticipating the unexpected.

"I've seen this before," Nicole leaned down to gaze at the overly decorated scroll case.

"As have I," Keiko added, hovering over the scroll. "There's a matching box as well," the Asian girl whispered, furrowing her brows.

Surprised by their statement, I turned towards the two women. "What do you mean, you've seen it before?" I walked back towards the artifact, "What does it contain, and what matching box are you talking about?" I figured that the scroll was odd enough, but for these girls to recognize it; that was something unexpected. New questions about these women and their connection to the Shredder surfaced. _What aren't you telling me? _

Then, the next thing I knew, Nicole was taking the scroll off the pedestal. I snatched her hand to stop her from moving it, but it was too late. A humming sound was heard coming from the vibrating floor and the pedestals began turning on their spots. _That can't be good. _I suddenly wished that I was with Mikey rather than these women. _That's not a good sign._

"What the hell did you do that for?" I demanded, backing out of the room. The alarms were already blaring so I couldn't tell if she activated another. Most likely she did, and the female wore an obstinate expression on her face despite the danger we were in.

"It rightfully belongs to us," she replied frankly, stepping away from the spinning glass cases. Her face was finally transformed to worry. "What's happening?" She asked the same question that was buzzing in my mind.

_Wouldn't we all like to know?_ I thought sardonically, backing out of the room slowly. Then things changed when a quick, soft jet of air alerted my senses. "Get down!" I ordered instinctively. The cousins dropped to the floor and shrieked when the first glass pedestal exploded, spraying us with crystalline shards. "Out, now!" I yelled at them, crawling flat on my plastron to escape the flying knives. If the knives didn't kill me, then I was sure my shoulder will. The tiny shards of glass on the floor pierced my skin, creating a stinging sensation while I tried to exit the room. Crawling only pushed them deeper into my skin.

The other glass cases shatter one by one upon impact, and I cringed when the knives made impact with the walls. There were hundreds of them covering the wall, making it look like a twisted rock-climbing wall. Nicole and Keiko made it out first, bleeding again from fresh cuts, and rolled to the side panting heavily. I was glad to be out of there; not resembling a pin cushions.

Near silent thrums of running feet reached my ear and I stood up immediately, "Foot ninjas are coming. Come on you two, we have to get out of here."

Standing up, Keiko shot me a steady gaze. "Donatello-san, if we get out of here alive, remind me to kill my dearest cousin, Takahashi Nicole," she hastened her pace; without regard for Nicole's glare.

"Don't you mean _when_ we get out of here," Nicole corrected.

_When, was right._ It seems as though we've been in this place forever; divided and hunted. Our escape was long overdue. It was time for us to be reunited with our families, and this madness was making it difficult to be optimistic.

* * *

><p>(AYAME)<p>

I was freezing; so cold in fact, I was numb. I was numb to the biting iciness of the metal beneath the palms of my hand. My cousin's complaints made me aware of it. My senses on the other hand, were burdened by the excruciating pain in my side which made it difficult for me to stay focused inside the ventilation shaft. Dust particles grated against the inner walls of my throat an lungs, forcing me to sneeze, multiplying my anguish tenfold. My eyelids formed their own rebellion against me; closing down and shutting out my view. It was already hard enough to see at it was, and I fought against my body's protest to keep my concentration on Mya's form ahead of me. That and the pain kept me going. They reminded me that I was still alive and not inside of a cramped dark coffin, dead.

Mya came to a stop abruptly and turned to me, "Ayame?"

"I am still here, Mys" I answered, wrinkling my irritated nose in contempt for the dust. "Are you finally ready to admit that we are lost?" I teased my youngest cousin for having me follow her; crawling through these small dark enclosures for a little under an hour now. We were practically going around in circles inside of here; everything looked exactly the same to me.

The eighteen-year-old scoffed. "We're not lost; just misplaced" she returned smiling impishly, "but I think we may be close to Nicole and Keiko."

"Why do you say that?" I asked eagerly, hearing the sound of hope in my voice. Finding our siblings alive would be by far the best thing that could happen to us right now. The girl crawled forward a bit until she crossed at an intersection. Straight fingers of light stretched upwards through an air vent, filling the shaft with light, which allowed us to see a bit more clearly.

"I found Nicole's jacket; it's got a laptop wrapped up in it," she said excitedly. "Didn't that Karai woman say something about them escaping," she pulled the jacket sleeve to drag the computer towards her, "I bet they used these shafts to do it, but where are they? We've been crawling around in here forever; we should have seen them by now."

"Not necessarily. If they were with Donatello-san, then I'm sure he would've led them out of here already. You and I however, well, you already see the problem there," I smirked.

Mya frowned at me and then looked east and west of the junction. "No. They left the laptop here for a reason. It's Nicole and Keiko we're talking about here. I think they were coming back for it," she paused, bending her body around the corner, and pulled her feet up to crawl towards the west. "I think I know where they went," she dragged the laptop along with her as she moved. "I think I see that abandoned elevator shaft Karai was talking about," she informed me.

"Finally," I sighed exhaustedly. The opening to the elevator shaft was a few feet away, terminating at a ninety feet drop that was void of light. Unfortunately, breathing was becoming tedious for me, so I wasn't sure if I could make it down there. "Hmm, so how do we know if they are down there?"

To answer my question, Mya leaned over the edge and shouted. "Hello, anyone down there?" Her voice echoed through the musty air. She waited a few seconds for a response before calling out again. No replies came on both occasions. "I'm going down," Mya stated in frustration before rolling over the edge to lower her legs unto the support beams. "Are you coming?" she asked looking through concerned eyes. I knew my cousin well enough to know that she was asking how I was doing. I was probably ghostly in face as I was certain that all my blood was frozen.

"Mys," I paused to breathe as my aching ribs paralyzed my system, "I don't believe I could make it," I replied despondently. There was no way in hell. "Go on without me. If you don't find the others; get out. Get out of here and call my mother, call the authorities, anybody to get us out of this hell hole," I instructed.

Mya's head was already shaking back and forth like a child refusing their vegetables. "What about the guys? What will I say about them? Even if I do get ahold of Aunt Noriko; they can't be rescued like us, Ayame. They're not human," she countered.

"They're _kame_. I know," I told her, wishing not to argue at this point. "You could lie to her. Tell her to make some special arrangements for them or something, anything." I was desperate. "Tell her that they were kidnapped while they were wearing costumes for a ball. I do not care, just call her. I am tired, Mya. I just want all of us to get home safely," I rattled breathlessly. Yes, I was losing it. This pain was taking its toll on me. It also dawned on me of exactly how much power my parents had at their disposal. Although they weren't as powerful as they were before, the titles they possessed before their retirement provided them with certain lasting luxuries. Especially Takahashi Noriko; the woman I call mother.

I never cared too much about their work or what they did, since I was the family's _black sheep_. I was the daughter who lived in her own world of fantasies; filled with wild and dangerous activities. I was the one sneaking out at night, racing cars, and taunting officers. Why? Because I wanted to impress the one guy that I thought was the love of my life. Sadly, my efforts landed me with multiple charges and a year in boarding school _down_ _under_. I was always determined to get what I want, and depended on no one to get it for me. Ironically, here I was begging for the very thing I despised the most; my parents' aid.

Mya's brown eyes narrowed at me. "I can see that you're going crazy…so I'll just climb down and find the others. With any luck, I'll be back soon with help," she paused hesitantly, "Don't go anywhere, okay."

_Don't go anywhere? Where does she think I will go?_ I frown, looking around. _I could barely move; I am practically dying here._

I must have muttered some words in Japanese because Mya winced a bit before smiling at me and descended into the dark. She was gone from my sight for a minute before shrill screams erupted, booming across the vast enclosed space. The echoes drilled into my eardrums, nullifying my ability to hear. I cringed and covered my ears, only to gasp when the pain in my ribs rocketed through my side rendering me weak.

The noise stopped, waking the fear inside of me. "Mya, are you okay?" I shouted, dragging along the vent to peer down into the elevator shaft. "Mya!" the girl's name bounced off silent walls, responding with mimicry. "Mya, answer me!" I screamed. I turned to lower myself down to a support beam.

"I'm fine, Ayame. No need to worry," hearing Mya's voice made me hold back.

"I heard screaming. What happened, did you fall? Are you hurt?" I sounded like a worried mother.

"She's fine, Ayame. We are all fine," a different voice called from down below. I almost bolted off the edge when I heard it.

Clutching my side I doubled over in pain and squeaked, "Keiko?"

I wasn't sure if they heard me or not, but I got a reply anyway. "We're coming up," Mya warned.

I clambered back into the air vent to wait for them. I brushed my fingers across the laptop curiously, wondering what information it contained. _What is so important about you? _I asked the device teasingly. _What connects you to all that has happened to us so far? Secret codes, ancient languages, maps, weird jewelry boxes._ I listed everything in my mind, tugging at old memories that I had once found boring and insignificant. Now my perspective on things has changed thanks to Karai's attack on my life over a stupid tattoo.

I thought about the odd box with the jeweled dragon on it that appeared on my father's desk this one time. If I recall correctly, I think my dad and uncle were having an argument over it. _It wasn't a gift for my mother._ I seized up at the revelation. I had just turned sixteen when Uncle Ichirou, Nicole and Mya were visiting us that summer. I went looking for my father that day to ask him about our dinner plans for that night and as it turned out, he wasn't in his office. Instead, I saw an attractive box sitting at the center of his pine desk.

It caught my attention immediately and found itself at the focus of my camera. After taking a few shots of the dragon, I heard the voices of my father and his brother talking. At the time, their conversation made no sense to me.

"_Jirou, you cannot keep the piece here. It is too dangerous. We should hide it somewhere else," Takahashi Ichirou circled his brother in the living room as they strode towards the study. A silent silver fan ruffled their rare casual clothing as it cooled the air within the high white walls. _

_Frowning, Jirou blew a ring of smoke into the air and watched it disappear leaving behind the scent of his cigarette. "Funny you should say that, brother. You are the one who wanted to tell our daughters about our history and the importance of this piece. I do not know why you want to burden them with this thing that has haunted our family for centuries. I will keep the damned piece, but I will not reveal its true nature," he sucked in the nicotine from the cigar, making the end glow bright red_.

_I didn't bother to duck out of the study when I saw them reach for the door, to enter. Strangely enough, both men said nothing to me when they saw me standing there with my camera. Being in there was not an unusual thing for me, but given the nature of their conversation; I expected them to be uncomfortable with my presence. Uncle Ichirou simply nodded and father snuffed out his cigar. He had that look in his eyes; the one that said: ah, my delinquent one. Sighing, he gestured towards the door. "Ayame, your mother's looking for you. She wants to take you and the girls out to the mall for the evening," he said to dismiss me. _

_Taking the hint not to question them, I smiled politely. "Yes father, goodbye Uncle," I said, giving them a curt bow before I left._ The memory lapsed at that point, placing me back in the present time within the Saki building.

Keiko's head was the first to appear from down below, "Ayame, I'm so glad you're alright," she said, climbing into the metal frame. Before I could respond, she immediately latched on to me in a painful hug.

"I will be alright, _after_ you let me go," I choked out.

"I am so sorry," she pulled away blurting out apologies. "I forgot about your injury," she mumbled.

"I am really glad to see you too, Keiko" I began crawling back to make room for the others to climb in. Keiko glanced back and followed me deeper into the vent. "What happened to you?" I noticed that she was soaking wet; Nicole looked just as disheveled, and Donatello was favoring an arm. Fresh cuts went all the way across their arms and faces; some bleeding thin tendrils into one another. Wherever they've been; it was definitely a battlefield.

"We found a trophy room with a scroll in it. You remember the one from dad's safe, right? I took it back," she smiled triumphantly. "Dad showed it to us once and was about to tell us what was inside," Nicole caught my undivided attention. She held up the case for me to see and wiggled it. It was decorated in the same fashion as the jewelry box; save minor differences in the dragon's physical make-up.

The gears in my brain started turning with that particular memory. "Yes. We were at your place when he showed us," I paused, pulling my brows down in thought, "...and our father stopped him. He slammed the safe shut with the scroll inside. He was quite upset when he stormed in." I laughed at the memory of my father trying to argue with his older brother, "He put us out of _your_ father's office."

"Yeah, but what he didn't know was that dad had time to give Mya the key," Nicole smirked.

Mya's hand traveled unconsciously to her neck where she pulled out a fine gold pendant. "But, we never had the combination for that safe. How did it end up here?" Mya tumbled the key between her fingertips.

Donatello frowned and said, "We'll save those questions and answers for later, ladies. Let's just get to April and the others." Turning to me he raised an eye ridge, "By the way, how'd you two end up all the way in here? Where're Leonardo and Raphael?"

I could tell that he was worried about his brothers from the expression on his face. Actually, it was the first time I saw any sign of distress displayed openly on any of the terrapins' faces. All the turtles had this uncanny ability to mask their emotions quite well; if they wanted to. Michelangelo and Raphael apparently hardly ever saw the need for it. "We came across April-san, her husband and your brother fighting some _shinobi_; so we split up. Karai-san told us to take the air vent to get to the abandoned elevator while she and your brothers went to help the others," I explained to the turtle.

"_Karai_?" The purple masked turtle's green face was surprised on so many levels, but not in a bad way. "Where are they?"

"Come on, we will show you," Keiko slid straight ahead leading the way for the rest of us to follow. She settled over an opening and peered down into it. There were other routes connected to the one were huddled in, and my cousins and I used them to move aside; to allow Donatello access to the exit.

"We saw Casey and your brother down there. April went down-" her voice was cut off when a loud screech was heard; along with the sound of metal grinding and twisting. I felt the steel beneath me wobble until it cracked under our weight, returning to dead. Then the surface beneath us gave one last shudder before it collapsed.

In the midst of mixed yells and swearing, I found myself paralyzed from the immense pain that tore through my side, pulling every ounce of air out from my lungs, leaving me unable to breathe. I squeezed my eyes shut; not caring about the individuals that leapt over me with shiny metal, and I curled up into a tight ball. Yes, I was in a mess. I couldn't find my bearings to assume total control over my body at the moment. If I were to base my judgment solely on my ears; I'd say that I was in the middle of a 'Musketeer' movie and the main heroes themselves were fighting with swords. I liked that idea better. Metal clashed against metal, and shrieks caused my eyes to fly open.

"Ayame, what are you doing?" I saw Nicole's terrified face floating in front me.

Groaning, I uncurled from my fetal position. "I am suffering in my own little world," I grumbled, allowing her to help me up just as Michelangelo came into play.

"Whoa, where the heck did you guys fall from?" he joked, breaking a man's spine over his knee. I stiffened as his spine made a crackling sound from being bent backwards. He rolled off Michelangelo's knee when the turtle bumped him off. "First April dropped in on us, now you guys," his voice bubbled over with excitement. I saw him limp towards Donatello and pat the terrapin on his shoulder making him flinch.

"Bad shoulder, Mike," Donatello warned through clenched teeth, "and what happened to your leg?" he eyed Michelangelo's wound when they both ducked from a flying ninja.

"Sorry, bro. I'm glad that you're alright. I was beginning to worry about you. You should have called," Michelangelo teased, catching the flying man in his side with his foot.

"That looks like Raph. I think I have another First Aid session to go over with Raph," Donatello muttered, drawing blood from a man's mouth. The human landed at our feet unconscious and his mask darkened where the blood escaped.

Nicole winced at the sight and pulled me back since I was still not in total control of myself. "How can they joke around at a time like this," the uptight young woman hissed in my ear incredulously.

"I heard that, Don!" the mentioned turtle yelled at us while dropping down on his opponent with an extended leg. The ninja crumpled under the weight of the muscular green mutant. "I was only trying to save his leg from bleeding out. You could at least be grateful that I even bothered with his ass!" Raphael bludgeoned through three hooded persons before coming across to where we were standing.

His two brothers crossed their arms, smirking at the raging turtle. "Look, Don. He's happy to see you," Michelangelo chuckled.

What scared me was the fact that these _kame_ switched to a happier, free-spirited demeanor upon their reunion. It's like they gained hope and encouragement from one another; increasing in strength and indestructibility. Not that they lacked any of that on their own. We are currently watching them execute flawless martial arts techniques in their injured states, to fend off ruthless murderous men who sought it upon themselves to desecrate Japanese traditions.

"Look sharp guys, we've got the big guy to deal with," Raphael jabbed his thumb in the direction behind us, to which my cousin and I turned dutifully.

We came face to face with a retreating Mya and Keiko who bumped into us. They started and whipped around. "Ayame, Nicole, I think this is the part where we're supposed to run," Mya pointed at Leonardo who was locked in combat with the one they called the Shredder. "Or hide," she shrugged sheepishly.

I saw when the cursed woman called Karai brought down two more ninjas before joining Leonardo in his fight. Casey and April were assisting as well, but got thrown out of the foray by the armored man. He shoved Casey back with his metal coated leg, causing the man to fall over the edge of the platform. His bloodied fingers were seen holding on to the edge for dear life. April immediately rushed to pull him back up while the three turtles went forward to aid Karai and their brother in battle.

"I will not be defeated this time," the steel alloy samurai bleated, driving an arm into Karai's side, sending her flailing to the ground. "Not by my own daughter, not by you creatures," he flipped back from Leonardo's sword, ducked from Michelangelo's ninjato, and caught Donatello in his injured shoulder. "I will have what I came back for," he growled as the purple-masked ninja retreated in pain. "I will have this planet and your heads will serve as the trophies in my temple," he preached, successfully blocking all of Raphael's attacks.

Growling in irritation, the red-masked turtle jabbed at him; left, right, left and spin-kicked him in the breast plate. He then tried to deliver a roundhouse kick, but the heavily shielded man chose to block it by drawing the sword upward, slicing the turtle on the calf. Dropping back, Raphael swore. "Argh, damn it!"

Michelangelo and Leonardo were already on Saki when the man continued his rant. "You should have stayed out of my way, turtle!" He kicked out a leg at Leonardo; which the turtle dodged by flipping backwards, "Now you have no choice but to die!" He shouted defiantly as he disarmed Michelangelo and rammed the terrapin's shell into the ground with his arms. The impact of shell on the ground vibrated across the floor with an echo, and the orange-masked ninja grunted when the air rushed out of his lungs.

The action left Saki open to Leonardo's returning lunge. Their swords connected, slid off one another, making a blood curdling slicing sound in the air, and separated when they repelled one another. Leonardo stumbled back, mimicking the Shredder's movement; who unfortunately was standing on the very edge of the platform.

The helmeted head tilted upwards as realization hit him. If we could have seen his face, I bet it was terrified in that moment. He flailed a bit; after being pulled backwards by gravity acting on the weight of the heavy metal suit, and received a jolt from the ninjato that embedded itself in his neck.

A rage filled roar escaped from the man's helmet as he fell over the edge under the smug gaze of Raphael. "You have not seen the end of me…!" He tumbled down into his own tank, crashing amongst the broken pieces of the crane.

"Nice throw, Raph," Leonardo glanced at Raphael out of the corner of his eye, helping Michelangelo up.

"Nice? That's the only word you could find to describe _that_?" Raphael waved his hands about in disbelief.

I hoped that he was joking. His blue-masked sibling ignored him and assisted the other in walking back towards us. "How about wicked?" the one with the orange mask suggested.

Raphael grunted incoherently and Donatello shook his head at their antics. He, Karai, April and Casey rejoined our company. The ten of us reunited once more. Despite my agony, I felt as though I could breathe again.

"What now?" I asked simultaneously with my sister. I guess we did have a freaky twin thing. I was two minutes older than her though. Keiko scrunched up her face in displeasure as Mya tried to hide her snicker. My sister hated the coincidental occurrence.

"Now we must leave this place," Karai stated flatly. "Follow me," she said, gesturing in a westerly direction.

Keiko and Nicole snatched up the laptop and scroll from in between the bodies of felled ninjas, while Karai dropped a few pen-like devices randomly on the ground. They rolled a short distance away, showing off their blinking red lights.

"Karai, what are you doing?" Leonardo questioned harshly.

"Are those things, what I think they are?" Donatello's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he watched one of the silver objects roll towards the edge of the platform.

"I am ensuring our escape," she replied instantly, walking briskly towards wherever she was leading us. "We have fifteen minutes," she informed us and I heard the distinct groans of protest from Michelangelo and Casey.

"I think that suit is one size too small for you, lady. It's cutting off all your circulation, turning you back into that crazy bitch we all came to love," Casey said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Case," April nudged him in the rib, "we need to get out of here."

"What about that painting you guys were talking about?" the man asked.

"We don't have time to think about that right now," Leonardo explained. "This place is gonna blow, and I don't think Shredder will be able to return to his quest for the 'piece'."

That threw me off. What did he mean by that? We just watched them kill the guy and now this woman was going to blow this place to pieces. Why were they speaking as though he was invincible? Clearly no human on earth was invincible. Didn't these _kame _know that?

"Isn't he- isn't he dead?" Mya asked, glancing back at the place we were leaving. Out of the eleven of us, my family members and I were thinking along the same lines.

"Highly unlikely," Raphael murmured under his breath.

Karai hurried up a couple flights of stairs and led us towards a functioning elevator. "We're going up. I have a helicopter waiting," she asserted. "As for the painting," she unsheathed her blood stained katana, and slipped out a long rolled-sheet of paper from inside the scabbard. There was a protective covering on it. "I stole it from the Shedder long before I came across you all," she flashed a brief smile at us and turned away to let us stare at the back of her head as the elevator rose to the top of the building.

Once we got to the roof, the strange ninja woman kicked the door open to reveal the aircraft that greeted us with strong gusts of wind that was generated by the rotors.

"Is this a good idea?" April shouted over the beating noise. Her voice failed to travel miserably.

"I don't think so!" Raphael returned.

Without looking back, Karai shouted, "What is the matter, Raphael? Do you not trust me? I assure you that I am on your side," she jumped into the chopper. "I have a pilot who is also the medic on board. He will tend to your injuries," she glanced at me while stretching her hand out for Mya. The girl ignored it and looked at April to hop in first.

The red-head and Casey hesitated so Leonardo went up instead. "Come on, guys, Mya. It's our only way out," he beckoned to her and Nicole.

Reminded of the bomb, they instinctively moved, and Raphael helped them up. The rest of us climbed in hesitantly, with me getting help from Michelangelo. I secured a seat between Donatello and Keiko in the UH-60 Black Hawk. It was designed to carry eleven troops along with other heavy equipment. This one was modified for civilian usage.

"Take us up, quickly," Karai commanded as she strutted towards the co-pilot's spot. She planted herself in the black leather seat, and automatically pulled down the headset communicator to place over her head. She obviously thought her plans out carefully, I noted.

As soon as we lifted into the air, the explosions came, and windows were thrust outwards by tumulus clouds of fire and smoke. More explosions erupted from within the building when the remaining bombs went off, destroying the smooth image of the structure. The blast caused the chopper to rock slightly during our climb and I gazed down below, wondering where we were headed to next.

* * *

><p><em>Who's next? Maybe Raphael... (^_^)<em>

_Hey, you there. Did I tell you that this was going to be very-very-very long story? Thanks for sticking with me. Until next time._

_Krys out!_


	13. Burdens & Sacrifices

_In advance, I apologize for the mistakes. I know I miss stuff sometimes. Even MS Word miss stuff_. _I don't know why_.

_Thanks K-Lynn._

_Thanks to all my readers/reviewers! I know you're out there. _

_I own nothing from TMNT. Also, the characters, locations and situations in this story are fictional & do not in anyway resemble real persons or situations. If they do, then it is by mere coincidence. __IOW, I made shit up with a little help from search engines. _

_On with it!_

* * *

><p>(RAPHAEL)<p>

The drone of the helicopter rotor blades was everything but deafening, and I welcomed the vibrating hum like a lullaby to my frustrated thoughts. I yearned for the rapid beat to drown out each dark musing that emerged from my mind. Unfortunately, the only serenity it granted was a pair of numb eardrums. My thoughts reigned free. I hated the idea that we made it out of the Foot Headquarters only to be stuck seventy miles up in the air, inside of a chopper piloted by Karai. Seeing her wearing that Foot uniform destroyed whatever little trust I possessed for that woman.

She took over from her pilot the minute we were airborne, and allowed the man to come in the back with us. Apparently he was Karai's medic, since he practically went into doctor mode, and began tending to Ayame's injury. The woman made no objections, and listened to the man as he spouted a series of medical terms which translated into 'a couple bruised ribs' and 'a hairline fracture'. I moved my eyes away from them when I saw my brother unbuckling his seat-belt to get up.

He'd been sitting mostly statuesque; intently gazing at the fiery inferno of the Foot Headquarters, which, from our perspective, shrank to the size of a vanishing pin as we moved farther away from it. With it out of sight, and no signs of the enemy in pursuit, his attention was drawn back to us. Dark eyes stoic as he moved to take the pilot's position up front.

"Where are you taking us, Karai?" Leonardo questioned.

I rolled my eyes. _Of course, that would be the first thing you'd ask, Leo__._ For a minute I thought that he was going to ask her to set us down, where we're supposed to be; on the ground.

"I was hoping that you'd tell me, Leonardo," she replied, turning her head to look at him.

Leonardo stiffened at the remark, "_Me_? Listen, I don't have time to play these games with you, Karai. I'm only going to ask you one more time; where are you taking us?" he demanded more strongly.

"You should've asked that before we hopped on this thing, Leo," I leaned into the cockpit from my seat, shooting a glare at Karai for good measure. "I think you should set us down now. Leo's not your navigator and you've got no destination, so that means we're not going anywhere." I informed her.

She snorted and lifted her chin to respond, "I will only set you down if you use the map and the painting to find me a destination. We must find the _piece_ before the Shredder does."

"Wait," Nicole's brows arched in surprise when she overheard that bit of the conversation. "You guys still think he's alive?" She asked in disbelief. "After all _that_," she referred to the bombs that went off inside of the building.

"Trust me. It is always better to think of him as still alive, rather than assume he's dead. The Shredder always finds a way to cheat death," Karai stated.

"That and the fact that he's a little alien slug living inside of a metal suit," Michelangelo added from his seat next to her. His face showed these tiny twitches every time April tightened a stitch in his leg. She accosted some of the medic's medical supplies when she offered to help him handle those of us who were injured. This included everyone except for Mya and April. Theirs were minor in comparison.

"Are you serious?" Mya lifted her head off her sister's shoulder to look at the orange-masked turtle.

Michelangelo placed his right hand over his heart. "Of course I'm serious," he said earnestly, "I wouldn't joke about something like that."

"Why do I find that hard to believe?" Nicole mumbled while fiddling with a strange scroll case that sat in her lap.

I rubbed the back of my neck in dread of whatever was contained, and sealed inside of it. The vast amount of glass cuts on her, Donatello and Keiko's arms, made me wonder what accursed hole they pulled it out from. I was dead certain that they unleashed hell on themselves when they grabbed it. Maybe hell itself was inside as well; since the jeweled dragon bared its teeth menacingly, locking in the secret scroll with its spiky tail.

"It's true," Mike defended, "tell them, guys." My brother looked down at April for support and then across at me and Don when she shook her head sighing.

Donatello's concentration was focused on the medic who was currently pulling a bloody shard of glass out of his arm. The turtle never winced or cringed at the sight of his own blood, nor the sting of the extracted razor sharp material. He remained focused. Michelangelo wrinkled his hairless brows at the sight, and turned to me for support. I however didn't see the point in trying to convince the women of anything. I just wanted Karai to land the damned chopper to let us off. We didn't need her help to find the _piece_. I folded my arms and offered Mikey a stubborn look. "Why should I?" I asked. The orange-masked turtle frowned disappointingly.

"It's the truth," Leonardo supplied without glancing back. "Though I wouldn't have used those words," he added lightly, and then switched his attention back to his co-pilot. "Karai, do you know where you're going? Because I will be more than happy to take us down," he said decisively.

"That won't be necessary, Leonardo," came the woman's response. "I'm not landing until I get coordinates from that map. Do you really think I would let this opportunity pass by and allow the device to fall into the wrong hands? Especially when I have everything I need to find it? You clearly do not know what is at stake here, Leonardo. The more time we waste, the more time the Shredder has to locate it before us, and if that happens; you can say goodbye to the world as you know it. That is why I will not stop until the _piece_ is found. Time is of the essence, Leonardo. We need to find it, and find it fast," Karai's voice was steeped in determination, and her eyes were fixed on an imaginary target ahead.

"Oh for heaven's sake, lady" I snapped. "You're just as obsessed as your father," I shook my head in irritation. Her motives were noble; almost _Leo-like_, but I still didn't know whether she could be trusted or not. Nothing was clear to me. The other humans inside the chopper remained tight-lipped while we debated with Karai. The girls all seemed pensive except for Ayame, who was asleep on Keiko's shoulder. The medic, whose name I refused to learn, was still dragging glass splinters out of Donatello's arms.

"Tell me about it," Michelangelo tugged at the straps that held him in.

"Mikey, don't do that," April scolded, applying the last strip of surgical tape to the turtle's bandage. Then she rose up; ripped the rubber gloves off her hands, and turned to Karai, "Karai, we'll give you the coordinates if you promise to drop the girls off. They don't need to be in this." April's tone was stern and impatient, and she returned to her spot beside Casey. "Donatello?" She looked for my silent purple-masked brother.

His head jerked up, and I saw the how the blood transformed his mask into a completely different color. "Yeah?"

"Would we be able to get the laptop working from up here?"

Her green eyes masked the worry in her heart and her hand unconsciously brushed against Casey's. I could tell that she was deeply worried about her husband and was probably as scared as hell for his life when we were inside of that building. Casey's injuries weren't that bad since he sustained mostly bruises, but the cuts and bluish patches that covered his face and body made him appear worse than he truly was. He turned his hand over to hold his wife's hand; sensing her distress. I always admired their devotion to one another. It gave me hope to know that there were still some things in the world worth fighting for.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem. We saved everything on the hard drive," Donatello replied distractedly. He must have been feeling like crap after all that amount of blood loss. The turtle in question absentmindedly extended his arm for the medic to dress after the other one was put in a sling. "You just gotta be careful not to reactivate the virus," he warned April.

April nodded as Keiko passed the computer to her. She sat it in her lap, and began working on it instantly.

"If you want the coordinates you will have to give her the painting, you know," Nicole mentioned to Karai.

The Asian woman smiled, "Leonardo, do you mind taking my sword and getting the artwork for Miss O'Neil."

Begrudgingly, the blue-masked turtle leaned over, and pulled the weapon out from Karai's side. Then he unsheathed the sword to reach the painting inside of the holster, and pulled it out for April, "Here, Raph."

I looked up at him as he unrolled the painting. "Hold it up for April," he suggested, passing the canvas to me. Like me, he was skeptical about how this was going to work, because you can't exactly overlay a physical painting with a digital map. I took the painting and held it up for April to see after stealing a peek at it.

It was a life-like replica of an overhead shot of a harbor, and because of the limited area covered in the picture; it was not enough to give specific location. "So how is this supposed to work?" I couldn't help asking.

"Easy," April replied with a smirk. "See, all I need to do is snap a photo of it with this web cam here," she turned the laptop around to take a picture of the painting with the tap of a key, "then adjust the sizes of both images so that I can overlay them… which shouldn't be a problem because the map's layout is based on the painting, and _voilà_; we have a complete map," she paused as she tapped away on the device. After a moment or two, she frowned and looked up from the computer. "Wow, I don't believe it," she exclaimed in surprise.

"What? What is it?" Leo asked.

"She painted a landmark in here, which explains why the professor used this painting. Lucky for us; I just happen to know exactly where this place is. This is amazing, really. No wonder we couldn't find a match on the computer. She painted this area before they started using GIS, _and_ also before they redid the entire engineering design of the dock. It's completely different now. About five times larger," April sounded astonished and stared at the computer screen.

"Well, where is it?" I asked, not entirely thrilled with the suspense she was creating.

With a smile on her face she typed furiously on the laptop, "You guys wanted coordinates, here are your coordinates," she turned the computer around to show us the screen. "We're going to Weehawken, New Jersey," April informed us. "The map points to a single yacht," she pointed out.

"Great," Karai banked the Black Hawk to change direction, and then she asked, "Miss Takahashi, what is the name of your father's boat?"

Nicole and Mya both looked at the woman puzzled, and the younger female cocked her head with a mischievous smirk, "Which Takahashi are you speaking to?"

"Either one," Karai failed to hide the annoyance in her voice, and it only made Michelangelo and Mya smile broadly with humor.

It was in this subtle moment I noticed the similarities between the girl and my ever annoying sibling. I honestly don't know how you can manage to make jokes in times where you're expected to be serious. I saw her sister frown at them; something that was becoming frequent, before turning to the piece artwork I held.

"Our father never owned a boat," Nicole stated, pulling the painting from my hands to look at it. "If he did once, then it'd have to be around the time my mother painted this."

"And your father never spoke about it, did he?" Donatello summed up.

"No, he didn't," She nodded, rolling the painting up once more.

"Perfect, we'll just have to figure it out ourselves," the female pilot said distastefully, "We'll be there within the next fifteen minutes or so."

_Huh_. I was sure that wasn't part of the deal. She had already intended on dragging these four along with us on this mission; which I unwillingly signed up for. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be dropping these four off?" I growled.

"You made a deal, Karai," Leonardo reminded her.

"I made no such deal, turtles," she retorted. "I clearly remember _not_ responding to Miss O'Neil's bargain. Besides, I think it's better to have them stick around. I have a feeling we may need them later on."

I snapped. Leonardo was just taking too long to put Karai's light outs so I decided to take it upon myself to do it. The second my seatbelt snapped open, a weight crashed into me and pushed me back down into my seat. A man with brown eyes and black hair was in my face. "What the," I pushed him back with force, forgetting that Casey and April were opposite to me.

"Raph!" I heard Casey call out my name as he struggled to unfasten his belt.

The medic grunted as he flew back, only to be captured by two green arms. Leonardo pulled him off me by the torso, and I saw the small knife in the man's hand. I don't even know how the turtle got around so fast to grab him. Stupid me, I forgot that Karai deals with ninjas. I raised my hand to slug the medic in the face when the man squawked.

"No," he raised his hand to save his face, but was too late. I felt the bones in his jaw shift when my fist made contact with it. "Damn you," the man swore, swiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Stop it, you fools!" Karai commanded, swinging her head around. "Stand down, Roderick."

"But, Mistress Karai," the man struggled against Leo's grip, "The turtle got up to attack you. I was only doing my job: protecting you."

I scoffed and rolled my shoulders back to challenge him, "I guess you failed at your job. You should stick to doctoring."

"Enough," Leonardo pronounced, still holding on to the medic. "Raphael, you need to calm down," he narrowed his eyes at me; to which I smirked, and then to the man he said, "You can return to your seat now. My brother would not be trying anything stupid again. I assure you."

Roderick scowled at me and shook out his arms after Leo released him. "Fine," he passed the back of his palm over his mouth once more to collect the blood and ducked into the cockpit.

I settled my eyes on my glaring brother and was prepared to tell him that I didn't agree with any of this if he started lecturing me, but shockingly the Bushido-practicing warrior held up his hand, sighing heavily and said, "I know, Raph. I know. I hate this too, but what do you want me to do?" he looked frustrated and out of sorts. Almost exhausted; in mind that is, and it scared me.

I held my tongue and watched him return to his original place beside Michelangelo. In that moment silence washed over the chopper, drowning out the loud drumming of the rotors on the outside, and I suddenly felt weighed down by the tenseness that seemed to embody our group. The next few minutes went by event-less until Karai's snobbish accented voice came over.

"The time is one fifty-two am and we are finally here, turtles. Look sharp. I have no choice but to set us down in a clearing that is as close as possible to the harbor. So that means we have some ground to cover. We have to move fast if we want to locate the correct vessel and get that _piece._"

_Damn. We've been in that building for almost twenty-four freakin' hours._ I looked up when the news hit me and saw the surprise on everyone else's faces as well. We were drugged inside there for almost the entire day. Air pockets developed in my ears as the Hawk descended and I flexed my jaw to clear them.

"I'm all for it," Casey volunteered.

The aircraft rocked sideways as it touched the land, and we unbuckled our safety straps to stand up. The beating blades made the trees around us wave madly in the moonlight, protesting against our arrival.

"I'm coming along," April included herself as well.

"Mikey, Don, you guys okay with staying behind with Roderick and the girls?" Leonardo asked the two turtles for permission to leave them behind.

Mikey shrugged, "Yeah whatever, but do we have to stay here with that guy?" He pointed at the back of Roderick's head.

I snorted, "Yeah, ya do." We couldn't have Karai's servant running off with our only source of transport at this moment. The four young women were watching us with these worried expressions on their faces. I was sure that they never expected to be tied up something like this, and I felt sorry for them, especially Mya. I think she was about to start college in a few months. Or at least that's what April had told us. She was playing with a fine gold necklace around her neck, chewing on her bottom lip. _And she wonders why I call her kid_. I looked away when her eyes caught mine in observation. I already got one nickname from her and I didn't want another one that labeled me as a pervert.

"Roderick is not part of our team, and he does not trust us, and we don't trust him. I'd feel better if we have someone we trust remain here as our backup, instead of him," Leo told Mike, and then he turned to our purple-masked brother, "Don?"

"I'm okay with it," Don agreed, giving a half shrug in response.

"Alright," Leo said, pulling the door open to allow the cool air to wash inside on a wave of moonlight. He looked around, breathing in the fresh green smell of the forested area, and jumped down from the helicopter. I followed him out, feeling the soft damp grass bow down, as they got trampled into the earth beneath my hard calloused feet. Casey and April came out next, and then Karai who gave a curt nod to her co-pilot.

The dark haired female's head snapped in one direction and she made a signal with her gloved hand, "This way." Her command was soft, quick, and effective in that she sprinted towards the line of trees, with us following at neck on pace.

* * *

><p>(NICOLE)<p>

_It kept coming back. __That image_. I squeezed my eyes shut to block out the black ghosts that haunted me. Thing is, they're still there even when my eyes are closed. I kept seeing him, and I wanted to hurl. My stomach twisted into knots with anxiety, and reached up to grab hold of my lungs, paralyzing them. It was returning. I kept seeing him. So pale, cold, lifeless, butchered like an animal. _Those monsters__._ I couldn't breathe, and my panicked eyes traveled to the exit where the strange man jumped down from, right before he slammed it shut again. The noise startled me out of my senses. I stood up, dropping the scroll on the floor when Michelangelo's voice pronounced my name.

"Nicole?"

I was already near the door when I looked back at the orange-masked mutant turtle. I still couldn't get over how green he was. They were all green, but still. His blue eyes were naturally filled with concern, despite his dislike for me. My hand hovered over the lever as I arched my brows questionably at him. Donatello leaned over to pick up the fallen scroll while my sister and cousins watched me strangely.

"Where are you going?" Michelangelo asked, not dropping the concerned tone in his voice. "Are you alright, you look a little pale," he said hesitantly.

I tried to breathe over the tightening in my chest, forcing myself not to show my discomfort in front of Mya. Panicking, I cast a quick glance at outside where I saw the moonlit clearing outside. That was where all the air was; where I could breathe in peace. Or so I imagined. Suddenly, Roderick's shadowed figure crossed my line of vision through the small window, and I noticed that he had a phone or a radio in his hand. For a moment I wondered who he could possibly be talking to all the way out there, and what about. His boss and the others left us behind to find the boat on the map, and had been gone for roughly ten minutes now. _Weird__._ My wandering mind was drawn back to the inside of the helicopter by Mya.

"Nicole, are you feeling sick?" She got up from her seat to approach me.

"No!" I probably answered too quickly, and a bit defensively, because I saw her brows furrow in confusion. "Sorry, I'm fine," I apologized quickly, trying to fix the mistake I'd made. Her facial expression changed from confused to one that was suspicious, and I shook my head to deny whatever she was thinking. "No, Mya. I'm fine, really. I just – I'm still a bit shaken up. That's all. I swear," I lied like my life depended on it. I couldn't let her know.

"Huh," she folded her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes at me. I already knew that she didn't believe a word that I'd just told her, but I didn't care as long as she didn't know the truth. "Are you sure?" She pressed this time, begging me to tell her what was on my mind.

"Yes," I returned shortly, pulling my hand back from the lever to my freedom. I still wanted to go out there. I was stifling in here, but it wasn't _that_ bad. I mustered all my will to go back to my seat under the curious gazes of five passengers.

"Nicole," Keiko began, but I stopped her.

"No, I'm fine. Don't do this, Keiko. Please," I begged, pinching the skin between my eyes.

"Uh, do you want me to get that medic guy for you?" Michelangelo suggested, thinking that I was truly ill. _Poor turtle._ I thought to myself. Unlike his brother, he was completely unaware of what was happening. "You honestly don't look too good," he confessed.

"I'm good, just a little – air sick," I lied again, hoping that they'd take the hint and get off my case. They were only making it worse.

He opened his mouth again, but Donatello saved me this time. "Mikey, its okay. She'll be fine in a couple of minutes. We're not moving anymore," the purple-masked ninja looked at me through brown knowing eyes. He knew. "Take a couple of slow deep breaths-while counting to ten and you should feel a little better in no time," he directed me. He was literally giving me a real solution to my problem through a lie.

I sighed in relief; comforted by the fact that he knew, and nodded at him gratefully.

Mya was still looking at me suspiciously, and Michelangelo shrugged it off. My cousins on the other hand, shot me down with disappointed glares.

"So, what's that you got there, Donny?" The orange-masked turtle gestured at the scroll case that was nested neatly in the palm of his hand.

"It's a scroll we found by accident back at the Foot Headquarters," he answered, setting the thing upright with his functioning arm.

"And when Nicole decided to snatch it back from Oroku Saki's shrine, she triggered some kind of booby trap with hundreds of flying knives that almost killed us," Keiko added. Apparently she still held a grudge against me for that. I shrugged at her accusation.

"Aren't you curious about what's inside?" Michelangelo asked. "That's a pretty special scroll to have a casing like that," he observed.

"Yeah, and it has a lot to do with everything that's going on," Donatello passed the scroll to Michelangelo. "Mya has the key," he told him.

"It belonged to our father actually," Mya explained, pulling the pendant off her neck. She took the case from the turtle's hand and turned it around, making the dragon crawl around until the key port was facing her. "Ayame and Keiko's dad didn't want us to know what was inside, so he convinced our father to keep it sealed and locked away. I feel like I'm opening Pandora's Box," she stuck the key into the hole and rotated it anti-clockwise until a soft click was heard.

"Whoa, check that out," the orange-masked turtle pointed at the jewel encrusted dragon's tail that separated into two as the case became unsealed. "I wonder who designed that. You think they could create something like that for me? That's pretty wicked," he beamed.

Donatello snorted, "Yeah, Mikey. I bet they'd love to leave their grave so that they could make a scroll case for you. What would you do with a scroll case anyway?"

I smiled at Donatello's sarcasm which seemed to bounce off his sibling's body since the orange ninja acted as if he hadn't heard him. "Or - you know what'd be cool? A huge dragon-lock plastered up across these two huge doors to my room. You know, like the door in Harry Potter with the snakes crawling all over it. I'd have to install the doors first," Michelangelo's mind went AWOL with the idea.

Shaking her head at the turtle, Mya flipped the lid back and pulled out a cream colored roll of parchment. Disturbed dust particles fell off the sheet as she shook it carefully. I felt a little worried about that, knowing that it may be fragile due to the age of the material. All passengers of the Black Hawk remained silent, watching the eighteen-year-old girl drop the case back into Michelangelo's hands and proceed to unfold the tightly rolled sheet.

As she opened it, two sheets were revealed. "Two?" Frowning, Mya pulled them apart and stared at both sheets in her hands. I was sitting on Mya's left, leaning over to look at the paper, while Michelangelo hovered over her right. Donatello and Keiko were now standing over us, looking down at the mysterious paper. The pages were filled with faded inky symbols that formed lines of writing on them.

"What does it say?" I asked, pulling one of her hands closer to me.

"If you gave me a chance to read it then maybe I'll be able to give you an answer," Mya retorted.

I shook my head at my little sister, and turned my attention back to the scroll. The sheet that I was looking at had _Kanji_ scribbled all over it. It looked like a letter of some sort, but I wasn't too sure since my understanding of the writing was quite limited as compared to my fluency in speaking the language. My first language is English, and Japanese only came as a form of communication between my father's relatives and I, which required more talking and less reading. "This is _Kanji_," I stated and Keiko tilted her head to look at it.

"They're both in Japanese and this one has paragraphs written in some other language," Donatello noted as he took the other parchment from Mya's hand.

"Yeah, but what do they say?" Michelangelo asked, growing impatient.

"Hang on. I'll read this one first… well the parts of it that are in Japanese," Donatello volunteered. "It starts off with weird Battle Nexus writing and then transitions into traditional _Kanji_. It goes: _Nanboku-chō_ period. That's a period during the thirteen-hundreds, Feudal Japan" Donatello vaguely explains, "_Tribunal Acolyte, Oroku Saki and also the former Battle Nexus Champion, has returned from his battle with the Tengu Sheruda, claiming that he__ has found a new use for the device he had created for the Ultimate Daimyo when he was at the Battle Nexus. The device, he explains, is called the Gates to Heaven and it has the ability to build a grand gateway that connects all the worlds of the Multiverse, to the Battle Nexus arena. Its purpose is to grant total access to all beings across the Multiverse so that they can participate in the competition_."

"What is that; some kind of diary?" Ayame asked from her stationary position opposite to us.

"Yeah, I believe so," the purple masked ninja looked up from the writing and shrugged.

"At least now we know what Karai's losing her head about," Mya stated impishly.

"Yes, but that doesn't explain why our family is mixed up in this," I mumbled.

"There's still a lot to read," Donatello pointed out. "May I continue?"

A couple eager heads nodded anxiously and he resumed reading. "_He complains about the Ultimate Daimyo. He says that he was a fool for not accepting his gift, and for asking him to destroy it for reasons my brother does not reveal. He says that the device worked well, and it should be put to use once more for the benefit of mankind_," Donatello stopped and frowned. "Er – now this part is in Battle Nexus," his eyes skimmed over a couple lines before he continued.

"Okay, here we go. _The Ninja Tribunal is upset that Oroku Saki has gone mad and activated the device. It causes four pillars to rise out of the ground, shaking the village's buildings to dust, sending the residence fleeing in fear. The Tribunal asks him to stop it, but he laughs and says that it is too late. _

_The device cannot be stopped. It creates great tremors that crack the earth and large tsunamis approach the shores. People are scared and running for their lives. The other Acolytes confront their former comrade, only to learn that he is indeed the Tengu Sheruda. _

_This sad news hits the village, devastating their already crumbling hope, and it hits us, the Oroku clan. Our family has been shamed by our once renowned brother. Our pride and joy ripped out from beneath us. He is automatically denounced by the Ninja Tribunal, but continues his madness as the demon holds him. The Acolytes faces defeat at his hands and the device tears apart our world. What can we do? It cannot be stopped_," Donatello paused and looked at all of us with this deeply worried expression on his face.

"Oh-kay," Michelangelo drawled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Please tell me that that's not where this story ends, right? Donny?"

Donatello stared at the sheet of dingy paper in his hand before speaking, "No, but I think this was written by one of Karai's long lost relatives. The original Oroku Saki had a family back then. This is amazing – this is - I honestly don't know what else to say about this."

_You and me both__, Donatello__, _I thought darkly. I had no clue what to make of it. Mya, Keiko and Ayame all wore the same confused, freaked out expressions on their faces. It still didn't explain why we were involved in it. Why did my father have a thing like that in his possession, when it clearly belonged to Oroku Saki? Why were we in possession of the _piece_ as well? None of it made any sense to me.

"I'm still confused about our involvement in all of this," I said to the turtle.

He shot me an apologetic look, "Sorry. Maybe when I'm done reading this whole thing, it might clear things up for us. Well, at least that's what I hope."

"I hope so too," I returned.

"Reading on?" Michelangelo urged him on.

"Yep, reading on," Donatello began. "_My demon brother finds me one morning and asks where my loyalties lie. He looks different; almost unrecognizable. I wonder why he asks me that. He is not my brother, but a tengu. I do not answer his question at first and lowers my head in thought, thinking that__, if he wishes; he will strike me down here and now._

_Our world is dying and our own family has caused that. The village wishes us dead. Our father, sister and one other brother all live in hiding; fearful of the village's anger and Saki's wrath. Who knows when we will all die? _

_I hear him laughing over me. 'Nagi, younger brother,' this demon calls me. 'I will not kill you if you deny me, because I know that you cannot stop me. I also know that even if you go against me, you do not have what it takes to put an end to the Gates to Heaven. None of you.' He rocks his head back and laughs. _

_I tilt my head to the side questioningly, 'What do you mean by that Shredder?' I ask the question hoping that he will tell me something useful, and by the gods I am right. He does. _

_'__You and the rest of our family members or whatever is left of the Oroku clan fear death too much to put an end to this. The four pillars were made indestructible by my blood. The blood of Oroku Saki, therefore the only way for it to be deactivated, is by blood.' _

_I watch the demon in the eyes as he speaks and see that my brother's eyes are gone. The tengu is laughing at me. He is telling me that the only way the device can be stopped is by shedding his blood on it. I somehow say my thoughts out loud and he laughs again._

_'__No, Oroku Nagi. You are mistaken. It was made indestructible by Oroku Saki's blood, but in order for it to be stopped, there must be a willing sacrifice on the part of four blood relatives of his. Or mine__,' the demon chuckles at his joke._

_I do not find it funny. He tells me that the fate of this island lies in the hands of our death. Four relatives of blood must willingly accept death upon the four pillars in order for this madness to stop. Why would my brother create such a device? The tengu goes on to tell me about the flaw of the device, and why he chose my brother. _

_The device was supposed to be activated and deactivated by the War Staff, but because it fed on the core of the planet that it was activated on, it was too dangerous to use. He found this out during a test run on the Daimyo's home world, and the Daimyo was forced to shut it down with the War Staff. He demanded that it be destroyed, but my brother had other ideas. He modified the device making it indestructible and brought it back to earth right before he was sent up against the Tengu Sheruda; the real demon himself. _

_That is when the change happened. The tengu watches me for a moment and then leaves me to myself. It makes me wonder if my brother Saki was in there still. He had many chances to end my life, but did not. I curse at our Ancestors for bringing this misfortune down upon us. Why us?_" Donatello's voice dropped as he finished his narration.

"Is that it?" Mya questioned, taking the sheet from his hand. Like me, she felt that it provided us with no more information about our involvement in this mess than before. It was disappointing.

"Yeah," he answered clumsily. "Well, at least we know one thing for sure."

"Oh really, what's that?" Michelangelo asked.

"We know what the Shredder's looking for, and we know how to stop it if the need arises," the purple masked-turtle said with certainty, "the only problem is, there's only _one_ living relative of Oroku Saki, and she's not even blood related to the man. To make matters worse; she was adopted by an imposter! Heck, even if she was related; I doubt she'd be willing to sacrifice herself for anything, let alone save the world." His tone sounded like we were facing our doom. .

_Hell, the entire story or journal may not even be real_.

"I am still confused," Ayame voiced her concern. "Why are we here then?"

"Uhm, I have no clue," Donatello was just as baffled and misplaced as us, "What about that one? What does it say?" He pointed to the sheet in Keiko's hand.

"This?" She straightened it out and scanned over the words, "It is shorter that that one, but it looks like a letter."

"Well, read it to us then," Mya encouraged her.

"Alright," she nodded, taking a deep breath before starting. "It says:

_To my beloved Naoko,_

_It is with great sorrow that I leave you my only nephew to care for. I know that without a doubt, you will give him a home and care for him as if he were your own, for you are my beloved, caring and compassionate Naoko. I am sorry for placing this burden on you, and I am also sorry that I have waited so long to promise you my life. Forgive me for this, Naoko, but the fate of Japan lies in my hands and in those of my family members. We must correct what the child's father has done. By the time you are done reading this, I will no longer be alive. Do not cry for me, my dear. I would give my life a thousand times over so that you can live. Remember that I will always love you. As for the little one; let him know that he was loved by his family. Let him be called Takahashi; a name that was once carried by his deceased mother. He will be known as Takahashi Hiroki, instead of carrying his father's cursed name: Oroku Saki. That is my last request. Good bye Naoko. _

_Love, Oroku Nagi__."_ Keiko's hand trembled as she looked up from the sheet. "Takahashi," she repeated the name in disbelief. Donatello and Michelangelo's jaws went slack in shock.

_Hiroki Takahashi?_ I almost keeled over trying to read the last line. Maybe Keiko was mistaken. Maybe it was just a coincidence. _Takahashi!_ Our last name pounded in my ears with a vengeance. _That can't be right. We can't be related to Oroku Saki. How could Oroku Saki be a man that existed over six hundred years ago, and how can we be related to him? A man that fathered a child whose name was evidently changed by request to__: Takahashi. That's crazy._

My head suddenly felt light when the realization hit me that my father knew this. Both he and my uncle knew this. He died keeping this secret. The need to get out of this suffocating aircraft hit me like a bolt of lightning, and I reacted instantly.

I was out the door in a second and almost collided with Karai's medic. He looked shocked to see me and caught me by the shoulders to keep us both from tumbling down.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked, looking worried. Or was it guilt I saw in his eyes? _Who cares._

Ignoring his question, I wriggled out of his grasp and darted across the moon-kissed grass towards the line of trees. He didn't follow me which was a good thing.

* * *

><p><em>~ According to Mirage Comics, Oroku Saki had a brother named Oroku Nagi who was killed by Hamato Yoshi for Teng Shen or Tang Shen...whatever. Oroku Saki sought revenge for his brother and killed Yoshi. Yep, so that's where I got the family history thing from. I merged bits of that story line to the one from the 2003 Series, where Oroku Saki was an Acolyte during Feudal Japan. I also noticed that the cartoon had an error where some of the characters called Karai, Miss Saki, when in fact her surname is Oroku. Japanese nationals place their surnames before their first. Which is cool. :D ~<br>_

_On to the next Chapter, when bad things happen...  
><em>


	14. Trust & Loyalty

_I only own the characters I created. _

_Thanks for reading guys._

* * *

><p>(MICHELANGELO)<p>

"…_He will be known as Takahashi Hiroki, instead of carrying his father's cursed name: Oroku Saki. That is my last request. Good bye Naoko. _

"_Love, Oroku Nagi."_ Keiko's hand trembled as she looked up from the sheet. "Takahashi," she repeated the name in disbelief. Nothing else was said, dropping the room into a black ocean of silence. Surprise pranced across each girl's frame, and threw their minds into a new realm of thought. This was their heritage.

_Damn, that must suck._ I grimaced after listening to Don and Keiko. _No wonder the professor and his brother had all these secrets, and didn't trust this 'Saki'. They knew that he was an imposter. Utrom Shredder must have been seeking them out for a long time, but couldn't figure who they were because of the name change. It's funny how marriage never interrupted the inheritance of the name in their family over a seven-hundred-year period. They must've had a lot of boys. _

_How lucky the Shredder was to discover all this just before the name changed again. I mean, here were these were four women who, most likely would've gotten married, and thereby not pass their name on to the next generation. Well, unless one of them ended up being a single parent or something. _

I stopped my thoughts when I saw the expressions on the girls' faces change. It went from shock to misbelieving to one of horror. Of course it would. We just found out that the Utrom Shredder was searching for a device that could destroy the earth, and the only way of stopping it was to sacrifice the four of them. _Like I said before; that must suck._

Just as Keiko dropped the scroll on the ground floor I heard a strange soft strangled sound escape from Nicole. Her naturally caramel-honey complexion was paler, and she looked as though she was having problems breathing. Suddenly, she flew up and rushed for the exit, flinging the door open with a bang.

"Nicole?" Keiko called after her in alarm, as she, Mya and Donatello got up to head for the exit.

I cut them off since I was closest to the door, "You guys stay here. I'll get her," I volunteered, grabbing a white paper bag on my way out. I jumped out and almost crashed into Roderick the medic who was standing awkwardly, staring after Nicole's fleeing form. He looked shocked to see me, and stammered like a criminal caught in some bad act before saying something that actually made sense to me.

"What the hell happened in there? She almost ran me over when she bust out of there," his voice settled into a calm tone as the nervous expression in his eyes disappeared.

I found it suspicious, but I didn't have time to deal with him right now. I had a girl to catch. "Can't explain it right now, dude. I gotta catch her first," I told him, running after her. She was making a beeline for the trees as I closed in the distance between us. I felt the stitches in my thigh pull with every drop of my foot and swore inwardly for not letting someone else go after her.

By the time she crossed the first line of trees; she stopped as if an invisible barrier caught her in it, and doubled over, gasping for air. There was this cool damp earthy smell all around, periodically intensified by the wind that stirred it up. I went up to her slowly, watching her struggle to catch her breath.

"Nicole," I tapped her on the shoulder with the paper bag, which was in fact a vomit bag. She didn't look up, and continued in her fight for air. "I hear if you breathe into a paper bag it helps with the anxiety attack," I said.

She wheezed a bit and glanced at me with a frown before lowering herself down to the ground at the base of a large tree.

"Take this," I opened the bag up and fanned her face with it, urging her to take it.

Hesitantly she reached out, took the bag from my hand, and covered her mouth and nose with it. The paper crackled and crumpled when she took her first real deep breath, and expanded again with just as much noise as before. Her brows were furrowed in deep concentration while she stared at the expanding and contracting bag. I sort of found it fascinating actually; how a simple bag filled with air could make someone believe that they were getting oxygen.

After a few minutes of watching her repeat the exercise, her breathing seemed to regulate and she lowered the bag from her face. I remained silent in my observation, waiting until she was ready to speak. She looked down at the bag and then back up at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

"How'd you know?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me.

I shrugged and sat down beside her; tired of standing on my bad leg. _April's gonna have my head for her stitch work._ "How did I know that you were having an anxiety attack?" I leaned back against the trunk of the tree and began picking at the bark, "Because…I know one when I see it," I explained.

"How?" she pressed again. She definitely wanted answers. For a moment, the large moon overhead was blocked out by a sailing waif cloud, removing the blue hue that tinted her face. The shadowing darkness hid her expression and the widely spaced trees around us, and left us blind. It cast a lonely feeling on me, and I guessed she felt that way too, because I heard the quiet shuddering breath she took as it happened. I sympathized with her and spoke to eliminate the approaching fear.

"Well, for one; I used to have them when I was really little," I confessed, "So I know a thing or two about them, and two; Donatello's my brother. I spent my entire life around him, so when I heard the _Genius'_ remedy for your 'motion-sickness', I knew that he was lying. I suffered from that too and he never made those recommendations for them, ever," I said, watching her facial features change with the returning light. I believed that Donny figured something out about Nicole, and didn't think that it was his place to say anything, so he helped her out.

"Huh," she looked down with a heavy sigh, and folded the bag back into its original shape. Rolling the paper up some more, she drew her feet up to her chest, and took in a deep breath, winkling her nose at the earthy air. "Thanks for the bag by the way. I never thought anyone would find another use for a vomit bag," she stated casually.

I laughed at her attempted joke and drew in the dirt with a piece of bark I tore from the tree. "So, how long have you been getting them?" I asked after settling on the impression that she wasn't ready to go back. "Your anxiety attacks, I mean."

She frowned thoughtfully before answering, "They began a few days ago, but it seems to be getting worse. I've never felt one this bad before," she admitted.

"Okay," I said slowly, regarding her body language. She appeared to be weighed down by some burden; almost depressed, and I saw fear and confusion in her as well. She practically looked lost and alone, like she was trying to hold up a fortress on her own two feet. She definitely needed release. "And when were you planning on telling your sister?" I had to ask.

Her eyes widened and she blinked at me in surprise, "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I saw how you tried to hide it from Mya. Donatello saw it too, and he tried to cover for you," I said pointedly. "I think that you should tell her. You shouldn't be going through this alone…and she has a right to know."

"What goes on between my sister and I is none of your business," she retorted, "and for the record; she doesn't need to know. You don't know us; you don't know what she already has to deal with. She's better off not knowing." She got up and started dusting the leaves and dirt off her clothes.

I snorted as the young woman returned to her indignant self, "Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your toes there, but if you ask me, I think you'll feel better if you tell her."

She spun around to face me when I stood up, "Why do you care, anyway? I thought you didn't like me?" she asked. "Why'd you come after me?" She wagged the neatly folded paper bag at me to show exactly what she was referring to.

I was caught off guard by the question. I had never given anyone that impression before. Why would she think that I didn't like her? I won't lie, in the short space of time I've known her, she annoyed me. She was always so serious and unsmiling. Maybe she got that impression when I got mad at her for touching my comic book collection. She called me childish for it, and I snapped. _Yep, that had to be it._

"I never said that I didn't like you," I smirked at her, "Sure, you annoy me sometimes, but I came out here to make sure that you were alright because I have a reputation to protect."

Her brows arched, "A reputation?" she asked slightly amused.

"Yeah, I'm the caring one, and because of that, all the ladies love me. They just can't get enough of how sensitive I am. Not only that, they can't get enough of my good looks," I teased, flashing the broadest grin I could manage.

Sadly, Nicole didn't get my joke. She scrunched up her face in disbelief, "So what you're telling me is that you've got a bunch of women lined up at your feet for your charming ways and good looks?"

"You think I'm lying?" I continued joking around.

She shook her head with a puzzled expression, "Human women?"

"Huh?" Now I was confused. I didn't understand where she was going with her question. "What other kind of women would I be talking about?"

She tilted her head to one side, frowning. "Wouldn't you be attracted to the female of your own species?"

I wanted to laugh so hard at her, but remained just as serious as she was, "We are our own species," I said, raising an eye ridge at her. "Total population: four, or five if you count Master Splinter," I joked.

Her hands flew to her mouth and she flinched, "I'm so sorry. I keep forgetting. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"

"Ah," I held up my hand to cut her off. "It's okay. You'll get use to us eventually," I chuckled at her blunder. Which only made her face go redder than normal.

When she finally got over her embarrassment; her eyes softened and her hand traveled to the bandage on my upper arm. I looked down when I felt her press down on the adhesive edge where it had separated from my skin.

"It wasn't sealed properly," she mumbled absentmindedly.

I nodded, "Thanks."

Then before I could move, her fingers left the bandage and began tracing my skin. Her fingers lightly touched each healed scar as they moved downwards from my shoulder. Her eyes were focused on where her hand was and I froze. I wanted to stop her, but something prevented my other hand from moving. I suddenly felt self-conscious and stared at her face, trying to figure out what was going through that head of hers.

"You – the four of you do this a lot, don't you?" she asked. Her brows furrowed and a deep sadness came into her eyes.

_Do what?_ I asked in my mind instead of out loud. I realized that my tongue was frozen as well. That's a first. She looked up and saw the bewildered frown in my face. Her fingers continued to explore the scars that were etched down my bicep.

"You go out there and fight these… these bad guys?" the question sounded somewhat rhetorical to me so I didn't respond, and she didn't wait for an answer either. "You put your lives at risk, time after time. Facing death over and over again," her hands left my arm and moved on to my plastron. There she found shallow solid gashes along with faint ones that looked like mere scratches. Her brows creased slightly every time her finger landed on one of them.

I couldn't feel her touch, yet strangely enough I imagined that I could. _Imagined? Why would I want to imagine that?_ My self-induced puzzlement was cut off by her voice again.

"I don't get it," she kept running her fingers slowly across my many scars; mesmerized by them.

"Don't get what?" I finally found my voice, "why we do what we do?" I asked.

She looked up at me this time with a troubled expression, "No," she replied. "I don't get how you face death. How do you do it?" she asked, stopping her finger over one particular scar at the center of my plastron. It was deeper than the others, and the darkest, since it was connected to memories I'd rather not recall. Her brown eyes locked on it, and a crease formed between her brows, "Aren't you afraid of dying?" she asked without looking back up.

I sighed heavily. _How many times have we asked ourselves that question_? "Death is inevitable, Nicole," I told her. "It's a part of life, and I guess we are afraid most of the times, but we just have to accept it."

"Yes, but how do you face it?" her voice sounded more demanding this time, and she lifted her fingers off my plastron a bit.

I assumed that she was about to move her hand away, but instead, the nineteen-year-old decided to press her fingertip into the jagged line on my plastron, which forced me out of my frozen state to grab hold of her wrist. The touch sort of jogged a painful memory; one where I was close to dying. I gently pried her hand away and gazed into her troubled eyes.

That's when I understood what she was asking me. She had seen death one too many times and is terrified of the idea. Now with the stuff that was revealed in the scrolls, there's the chance of her being called to her death to save mankind if the device is activated. She wanted to know how to overcome her fear; how to face death. I wanted to give her an answer, but she interrupted me when she pulled her hand back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable, Michelangelo," she rambled.

_Sorry?_ I was confused for a second, and then I remembered what had just happened. _Why is my brain stumbling?_ I cursed myself. The instant I pulled her hand away, I startled her back into her senses, hence her apology. "No, no. It's alright. Really," I assured her.

"But -" she began, but a strange sound distracted me.

"Shh, do you hear that?" I turned around to face in the direction of the sound. It was a slow steady thud of beaten air that came from the direction of the chopper.

"The helicopter?" Nicole's eyes narrowed when she recognized the sound.

"Damn it," I grabbed her hand to drag her along with me as I raced back to the chopper. _Why was it starting up? The others couldn't be back that soon, and they wouldn't leave without us. _I had a bad feeling about this.

"They wouldn't take off without us," Nicole pointed out. "What's happening?" She asked breathlessly.

"I don't know," I replied honestly.

When we got close enough to the chopper, the rotors were beating at full speed ahead; on the verge of lift off. The door was opened and a scream was heard on the inside. Bracing against the gust of wind pushing us back, I released Nicole's hand. "You stay here," I ordered, running directly into the aircraft.

* * *

><p>(RODERICK)<p>

Time. Time ticked away on the digital clock slowly; frozen in repetition. I stared at it, waiting for those ten minutes to pass so that I can get out of the helicopter safely and unwatched by Mistress Karai. I sat in the pilot seat watching them. They took forever to disappear beyond the trees. As soon as they vanished completely, I rose up from my seat and went outside, bypassing the two freaks and four women hurriedly. The purple-masked creature tempted to ask me where I was going, but I waved a pack of cigarettes in the air for them to see, and they let it go. I don't smoke, but it was enough to get out with a clean break.

I had to contact the others and let them know that Mistress Karai has found the location of the device. My allegiance with her ended the moment a small sect of the Foot informed me that the one true Shredder had returned. When Master Saki left, there were those who followed Karai only because she was the heir to the Empire, and had access to all his funds, whereas the others held fast to the idea that he'd return, and formed independent sects. Me; I followed power.

I scanned the area once more, before sealing the door shut behind me, and pulled my phone out once I felt secure. The sky was clear of clouds, allowing the moon to shine out in all its glory, blanketing the clearing in a warm calm blue light. It made everything look quiet and peaceful; the perfect disguise for a trap. The line on the phone rang once before someone answered.

"I take it, she has located the _piece_?" The ninja asked.

I looked back at the chopper, as I walked away from it to make the perimeter, "Yes. Mistress Karai has located the device, and she and two of the turtles along with two of their allies are on their way as we speak. They went by foot. I already sent you our coordinates. The device is on a boat out there on the harbor. That is all I know for now. The other two turtles and the four Takahashi women were with me inside the chopper," I told him.

"Good," he said, "The Master will be glad to hear this. Dispose of the ones that are with you. We have no need for them anymore. We will handle Karai and the rest." The ninja hung up on his last word, and I jogged back towards the door. I never imagined that things would work out this way.

This all started when I informed Oroku Saki of Karai's plans; to which he advised me to remain at her side, and let her believe that I was completely in her service; something I did obediently. She was one of his backup plans in case the Takahashi girl failed to crack her father's code. I was the spy. What he didn't plan on; was the turtles' timely involvement in all of this, and their subsequently convenient partnership with Karai. This made things a bit more complicated. _Maybe_.

I was reaching for the grey handle to pull the door open, when it flew open suddenly, and Nicole Takahashi tumbled out, almost knocking me off my feet. I caught her by the shoulders, and the young woman looked as though she was in absolute shock. In that brief moment, her eyes bored into me with a look that clearly meant she had just discovered something terrible. _The truth about me, perhaps_. I got worried instantly, wondering what I could have possibly left behind in there to give me away. My thoughts ran away in that brief second as I held her steady. Her eyes flickered away from me and it made me realize that I was not the issue here.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" I asked, not really caring. I considered snapping her neck right there, but the petite female avoided it when she wormed her way out of my hands and darted towards the woods. I stared at the girl; puzzled by her behavior, until someone landed behind me. I spun around to come face to face with the orange-masked terrapin. I was shocked to see him there, and seized up for a bit. He gave me a strange look that made me discontent, so I chose to play on innocence to distract him. It _was_ obvious that the young woman was the cause for him coming out like that.

"What the hell happened in there? She almost ran me over when she bust out of there," I asked, hoping that my voice sounded normal. It didn't, and the freak unmistakably noticed, but he didn't act on it. Instead, his eyes traveled to Nicole's clumsy sprint across the grass, at which he made a sound of annoyance.

"Can't explain it right now, dude. I gotta catch her first," he said, chasing after the running girl.

_With those two out of my way; I have only four to deal with._ I counted my victims on the inside, and entered the aircraft. I've treated almost all their wounds and injuries, so I knew that the one with the purple mask had a vulnerable shoulder. There was one other girl with a fractured rib; minor, but equally painful. She'd be the easiest to subdue. I slipped four _matsuba-gata_ out of the band on my wrist, and folded them into the palm of my hand, concealing them from sight.

"For a medic, you sure don't care about your own health," the purple-masked terrapin commented, regarding me with cautious eyes. He was standing at the far end of the chopper, rolling some sheets of parchment into a copper case. It was the same scroll case they'd retrieved from the Foot Headquarters, and my curiosity was set on it the moment Nicole stepped onboard with it. Due to my prior directives however, I had to ignore it; because locating the _piece_ trumped all else.

"Everybody has a vice," I stated with a shrug, observing the general atmosphere within the helicopter. The three women sat quietly with lowered eyes, and paid me no heed. Things in my mind started to shift into position as I watched the turtle seal the document behind the bejeweled dragon. Something changed, and it had to do with whatever was in that scroll. My interest was suddenly rising, and it fed into my quieting soul as I focused my chi into the execution.

When I saw the turtle's eyes move off of me to look at the case, I let the four _matsuba-gata_ fly, and felt the replacements automatically slide into the palm of my hand, and it was in that snap moment I saw the turtle deflect the pine-needle shurikens with the case. His face looked baffled if nothing else, and he was forced to dive out of the path of four new ones, targeting his head.

"What the hell are you doing?" he cried, taking Mya down with him as I threw the shuriken at them. The other women shrieked and ducked when short, sharp thumps sounded inside the aircraft as the tiny metal weapons punctured the walls, and shattered the windows. Somehow the reptile successfully deflected all of my aims with the case, and stood up just when I was down to my last needle. He strategically placed himself between the girls and I, and faced me off, holding the scroll tube as if it were his weapon. I was annoyed when I missed, and growled angrily at him, deciding that it was time to switch tactics.

"Have you gone mad?" he asked, breathing hard.

"No," I answered, flinging my hand out, withholding the _matsuba-gata_, and as I guessed the turtle moved to deflect the fake missile. I smiled wickedly, launching the shuriken finally, and it pierced his flesh in his injured shoulder with a sickening ripping sound. He let out a cry when the pain tore through him, and backed away from me.

"Donatello!" The youngest female gasped, reaching out for the turtle to hold him up along with her cousin. Their faces were masked with pure shock, and scared confused eyes flickered back and forth between the turtle and I. _Ah. Now I've got you._ I smirked at their useless attempt to pull the terrapin back for his own safety and drew out my _kunai_, taking a stance.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, the turtle grunted, boring me with fierce eyes, surely wishing he held his own weapon in his hands. He rolled free of the women's grasps and took a step towards me. "Why are you doing this? Did Karai order this?" he queried.

I snorted, twirling the blades in my hands. Throwing weapons was my specialty, but this turtle had impeccable reflexes when it came to avoiding sharp flying objects. It meant that I'd have to attack him the old fashion way; hand to hand. "I serve no one, but the true Master. Karai is nothing but a spoiled brat; a dishonorable leech who failed to walk in her father's shoes because she chose the path of her father's enemies. Little did she know, that she actually helped the Shredder in finding the _piece_," I said.

The purple-masked ninja scoffed, allowing a smirk to cross his face. "In other words; you're still a puppet," he mocked me with satisfaction, and so I lunged at him in the small space we were allowed; fueled by anger. He blocked each jab despite his damaged limb, grimacing every time he used that arm. We barely had enough foot room, so we were mostly locked arm in arm in the fight. I caught him in the chin with a right hook, that sent him doubling over, and then he rose back up, driving a knee into my side.

I wasn't expecting the strength behind his leg to be that powerful, and careened backwards awkwardly into the empty seats. I inhaled sharply to replace the air that was forced out of my lungs, and turned just in time to see the turtle bringing his leg down on me. I rolled out of the way, lifting the _kunai_ up in the air to shield my face. He retracted his leg from the blades, as I slashed at him, moving back to dragon punches and strikes, aiming for his green face.

He dodged my strikes and redirected the _kunai_ with the scroll tube, not even slightly hindered by the restrictions inside of the small hold. Within a fraction of a second, he knocked the blades from my hands, and rammed me hard in the chest. I wasn't sure what he hit me with, but the blow made stars explode across my eyes and I saw them swirling around in a pool of darkness as I reached out for something to grab unto to steady my uncontrollable stumbling.

My hands landed on a ceiling strap which I quickly latched on to for balance. Out of desperation I blinked convulsively, straining my eyes to see through the black vision that faded to white. I cursed at the temporary impairment. Just as my sight returned, I felt another blow in my abdomen area, driving every last breath out of me. The turtle forced me back into the cockpit, where I fell at an angle into the pilot's seat.

My arms crashed into some of the controls, switching on some of the functions. A variety of lights flashed and blinked like wary eyes of the Black Hawk that prang awake from the disruption. Alarms squealed in the form of beeps against the infraction of its flight control manual. Donatello came at me again, and this time I kicked him back with my right leg, expelling all the force behind the kick into his plastron. He grunted from the blunt shock and was thrown back out of the 'pit, and then I craned my neck to see the controls to the aircraft.

The wailing warning systems meant that the engine would soon fail on me so I decided the correct the noise by starting the helicopter the proper way. The craft was my only ride out after all. As soon as my fingers lowered the collective and started the engine, two hands clamped onto my jacket and dragged me out of the cockpit. My forehead hit the panel behind me, and it felt as if my head had split open.

The blow made the lights look blurry and they appeared to be stretching out towards me from the shadows ahead. I noticed that the beeping noises had stopped as soon as the engine hummed in harmony when it came to life, relieved to be functioning smoothly. I blocked out the pain that invaded my mind with its crippling power, and stretched my hands out to prevent myself from falling.

Gripping the edge of a seat with one hand, I whirled on the terrapin and slammed my palm down on the shuriken that was embedded in his muscular shoulder. He cried out in pain, and stumbled back but not before delivering a blow across my jaw with his hard elbow. Evidently, I bit my tongue so bad that I tasted the warm iron-rich fluid that filled my mouth to the point I was simultaneously swallowing and throwing up blood.

The turtle's veins bunched pulsed beneath his emerald skin as he gritted his teeth, staring at the needle-like spike in his arm. His plated chest heaved under the stress of the pain, and slowed into one deep breath which he released, yanking the shuriken from its position.

I would've been impressed if not for my own agony. I ignored my pain, grabbed an emergency oxygen mask, and deposited the device over my face. The turtle looked back at me and his eyes narrowed in confusion over my actions. Granting him one last cynical smile, I flung a smoke pellet on the ground, detonating it. Thick grey smoke exploded around our feet and rose upwards in a cumulus expanding cloud that quickly snuffed out all our visual senses inside of the helicopter.

They all started coughing instantly as the gases corrupted their lungs. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to stop the mutant ninja. Within his fit of chocking and gasping for oxygen, he rasped out angrily, "You shouldn't have done that."

I chuckled at the threat-less statement. "Oh, really? Look at it this way; all of you will be asleep when I toss you out from my chopper; one thousand feet in the air," I listened to the sound of their labored breathing until I heard the turtle drop to his knees on the ground with a thud. _Ah, this won't be long._ I smiled triumphantly at my victory.

* * *

><p><em>Where are the critics when you need them the most? Sleeping that's what. <em>

_I'd be my own worst critic, but my knowledge on this grammatical &/ plot development stuff has reached its limit. _

_Laterz!_


	15. Boats & Planes

**The Oroku Saki Empire**

**Chapter 15: Boats & Planes  
><strong>

_I do not claim any of the canon characters except for the ones I created._

_Oh come on…Donatello's hurt, he has to be heard. _

* * *

><p>(DONATELLO)<p>

The gas burnt my eyes and throat as it raided the air inside of the chopper- trapping us in a thick, white, cloudy storm. What it felt like; was beyond anything that came from regular pain. No. The micro-particles that radiated across my face and penetrated into my lungs itched and scorched its way throughout my system. A sensation that overwhelmed the pain from the piece of metal lodged in my recently-dislocated-shoulder. I blinked rapidly to clear away the water running from my eyes, and saw the shadowed form of Roderick standing before me; quite smug with some washed-up oxygen mask over his face.

The swirling cloud slowly erased his image as it thickened around us. That son of a bitch threw what I thought was a smoke bomb on the ground, and filled the confined space with the gaseous chemical. It didn't take the searing assault a second to make me realize that this was definitely no ordinary smoke bomb either. This felt more like a weakened version of tear gas; something just as vile as its predecessor, and created by an equally mad chemist. The toxic fumes strangled me, rendering me helpless against my fluttering lungs, and I glared angrily at Roderick's fading stature through the fog.

"You shouldn't have done that," I said, gritting my teeth. My voice sounded hoarse and pitiful in my attempt to threaten the man while I prepared to lunge at him, and hopefully break his nose bridge through the mask.

Blindly, he laughed at that saying: "Oh, really? Look at it this way; you'll all be asleep by the time I toss you out of my chopper; from one thousand feet in the air."

I barely heard the words he'd spoken because they were quite muddled by the rotating blades and the coughing _operetta_ in the background_._ When I tried to move, my body betrayed me by flopping down unto my kneecaps hard. I gritted my teeth to trap the unholy words that wanted to fly from my lips, and slumped to the floor unwillingly. My senses were fading and the end result cast long eerie shapes along my vision, making it even more difficult to stay focused.

Swearing, I held on to every fiber of strength and control that remained in my body, and tried to keep my attention on the swaying form of Roderick. His body looked like it shifted from a human to that of a grey ghost, gliding through curtains of fog. I couldn't tell if he was moving towards me or away from, and I feared that I was not capable of defending myself from whatever attack he had planned next. Suddenly, another grey figure appeared behind the man and the two masses formed into one, swirling around in the thick mist. I heard more swearing and the sounds of a scuffle which, as I assumed, could only be Michelangelo returning to engage Roderick in a fight.

The two were locked briefly; arms wrapped like constricting pythons around one another, as Michelangelo tried to bring the human under submission. The hazy white air swirled and parted as they swung their limbs out at each other, aiming to land deadly incapacitating blows, and then they became engulfed by the fog again. I really couldn't tell the difference between the quality of my vision, and the atmosphere around us. It was becoming more and more difficult to breathe. Like swallowing pure acid that intensified as it coursed down my wind pipes.

_We need to get out of here fast before we all suffocate, _I thought, remembering the choking women coughing in a chorus behind me, and halfway turned my head when someone started pulling me up.

"Don -," Mya coughed into the crook of her arm, hiding her face behind her oversized hockey shirt that was loaned to her courtesy Casey and April. "We have to get out. Can't breathe," she punctuated each word with a cough, tugging on my good arm. "Keiko has Ayame," she stated just as interrupted as before.

Blinking through acidic tears, I squinted, glancing back for the other two girls and saw their hunched silhouettes moving to get out of the chopper that had become a gassing chamber. Interestingly, my mind literally felt as cloaked as my senses; sight and smell, and it was hard to hone my focus in on one point to come out of this disorientation. Pushing aside the irritation I rose up on my feet and placed my hand on Mya's to let her know that I was okay. _As okay as I will be by force,_ I shook my head at the idiocy of the idea_. This was ridiculous._ "Yeah, - get out while I help Mike hold him back," I spluttered painfully. I suppose she agreed when her hand vanished from my arm, and turned to the brawling warriors at the exit of the aircraft.

Before I could act; the ninjas stopped their exchange of blows when Michelangelo finally had the man pinned against the grey metallic panel to the right of the pilot's access port. Smothered growls spewed from the man's throat as he struggled under the orange-masked turtle's grip within the restricted space of the archway. His obscene screams were trapped behind the mask which made him sound like Darth Vader prior the added sound effect enhancements.

"Donny, you guys – I got 'im. Get out now," Mikey choked out under the effects of the toxic fumes as it began ripping apart his respiratory organs.

I was already at the doorway ushering Keiko and her sister outside where the foggy air was filtering and diffusing into the fresher nighttime oxygen. By the time Mya dropped down to the ground; I spun around just in time to see Michelangelo reaching for the mask on Roderick's face to tear it off his head.

"Mikey, no!" I cried; diving towards the two when I heard the band from the mask snap against the turtle's wrist as Roderick pulled back his head sharply, snagging the plastic mouth piece between his teeth. He caused the cords to ensnare Mikey's hand as he wriggled his arm free to dig his fingers into my sibling's leg wound, destroying whatever stitching was left. I heard the squelch of flesh and blood when the stitches tore and cringed at the thought of pain that might be registering across Mikey's face.

The turtle gasped and dropped back as I rammed my body weight into the man's chest. All of the air rushed out of his lungs with a hoarse wheeze, forcing him to suck back in the poisoned air which made him gag and cough out of reflex. Enraged, he kicked me away from him, hurtling me back into Mikey whose shell collided with the thick wall that sang like a pealing church bell that rang at 1am.

We fell to the floor face down; my _very heavy,_ possibly semi-consciousbrother on top of my shell, with a pissed off Foot ninja coming towards us with a blade that he so graciously retrieved as it was conveniently within his reach. _Great,_ I groaned, trying to roll a _non-collective_ Michelangelo off my back. I rocked to one side violently, earning the turtle to slide off my back, only to have him grab onto my shell to steady himself once more as he came to.

"Mikey, get off – look out!" I snapped hastily as Roderick raised his weapon over his head vertically, aiming to stake us like fresh, raw meat to be placed on a grill. _It's too late,_ the words formed in my mind as my burning eyes looked up at the silvery metal pointing down at us. With one last shove, I moved; prepared to stop him with my bare hands since I had no intentions of going out at the hands of this worthless opponent. I'm sure Mike wasn't either, because he slid off me with as much speed as I stood up.

The man's squinting eyes widened in shock when I caught the blade between the palms of my hands, and we remained frozen in time and space for a fraction of a second; eyes locked on each other in what seemed to be an eternity. No words; just labored breathing; tainted by the chemical fumes of the smoke bomb. Then, as soon as his dark eyes shifted, I released the blade; cutting my already sliced-up hands on it, and stepped back to block his attack, only to hear a loud, deep, hollow clang, followed by the sound of his weapon falling to the floor.

His eyes rolled back in his head, like a creepy sleeping doll, and he dropped down to the ground flat on his face - unconscious. In the spot where he previously stood, was none other than Nicole; her face red and disturbed, holding a red fire extinguisher in her trembling arms. Moving awkwardly she placed the extinguisher to one side, coughing slightly in the foul air.

"Uh…thanks," I said, watching the girl turn to stare at the fallen ninja.

"Is he – is he dead?" she asked shakily, throwing an arm over her face to shield her mouth and nose from the bitter air. It had begun clearing up as the cool winds from outside brought in cleaner, breathable air, taking the chemicals along with it.

"I doubt it," Michelangelo uttered distastefully, rising up to lean his weight against the wall. "Man, I feel like I've got a sore throat from hell. What _was_ that: tear gas?" he asked, coughing into his hand to clear his throat and winced when it aggravated his situation even more. "Er… thanks by the way," he tipped his head at Nicole, and gave her a thumbs up, "for saving our butts."

She shrugged lightly, looking horrified at the scene.

I nodded in response and knelt down beside the traitor to check for his pulse. His skin was moist and hot from the warm blood that flowed through his veins; expended of adrenaline. "He's alive," I confirmed for the anxious woman, and she sighed heavily in relief; certainly comforted by the notion that she was not a murderer. "- but he'll be out for quite some time," I said standing up, feeling at the needle that was still buried in my shoulder. The pain from it was temporarily blotted out by the agonizing irritation from the burning taste of the gas.

I didn't think that the gas was poisonous enough to kill us, but I had hoped that it didn't have any other side effects other than what we were already experiencing. "Let's go," I beckoned with my hand for her to exit; exhausted from breathing, "we really shouldn't be in here, guys. I think it's best for us to wait outside for the gas to clear." I fanned at the air in front of my face, coughing and ducked my head as I jumped out.

She followed me, and then came Mikey, whose limp got worse as his thigh was torn open again. "What about Karai's evil henchman there?" He jabbed a thumb back at the helicopter that was live and humming, whipping us with powerful winds generated by the spinning blades.

I scoffed spitefully. I intentionally left the man behind because of all the trouble he caused us. Because of him I was irritated by even the grass I was standing on. "He's fine. He wasn't exposed to the gas as long as we were- plus he's lying on the ground unconscious, and the gas is clearing so he could very well remain where he is."

Mikey chuckled and plopped himself down on the ground to investigate his injury. "I take it you're really pissed off, Donny…secretly wishing he asphyxiated on the gas," the turtle commented while pressing his wound closed, making curious faces at the oozing blood.

I ignored my comical brother and turned to yank the weapon that was lodged in my shoulder. _You'd think I was immune to pain by now._ _Actually, I'm numb with pain._

Mya, who was standing next to her cousins a few yards away from us; came over to hover by her sister's side. I could see the concern on both girls' faces as they asked each other wordless questions with their eyes. Their eyes were bloodshot, as were mine, I believe, and then they turned their attention on us.

"Are you two alright?" Mya asked, looking from me to my preoccupied, orange-masked brother, who paused his hopeless fawning over the lost stitches to gaze back up at her.

"After today; I can't say," Mikey said wistfully. "If Raph were here, he'd say that he was '_just peachy,'_ all sarcastic and grouch-like. Donny, remind me to take a _long_ vacation when all of this is over. I'm finally beginning to think I'm getting too old for this kind of stuff."

I sighed, offering a withering smile to the pair, "We'll be fine. Don't worry about us. What we should be concerned about is getting away from here…and him." I finally pulled the metal out of my shoulder, and flung it aside, earning a couple grossed-out looks from my company.

"And rejoining the others," Michelangelo interjected.

"Yeah, that too," I added, mostly glancing across at the outline of trees that were shadowed by the dark sky, showing off its gleaming pregnant moon.

Staring blankly as if deep in thought; Nicole suddenly blurted out: "He was talking to someone," tilting the conversation into an entirely different direction.

I looked at her, baffled. Not comprehending what she was saying.

"What are you talking about?"

Fearful eyes met mine when she answered. "The medic: Roderick. He was talking to someone on his phone or something. Just a few minutes after April and your brothers left."

"When was this?" I asked with urgency.

"It could've been Karai he was talking to," Michelangelo supplied, promptly. "She couldn't be trusted anyway," he stood up; readily alert.

"No," I shook my head. "He wasn't working for Karai, Mikey. He said so himself. He was a spy working for the Shredder," I explained to him, and then to Nicole I asked, "When did you see this, Nicole? When did you see him?"

"Only a few seconds before I ran off," she hesitated for a bit, "I'm really sorry about that," she apologized quickly. "None of this would have happened if I hadn't run off like an idiot. Michelangelo would've been here to help-"

I held up my hand to stop her, mid-sentence. "No time to think about that right now. We have to leave. He must've warned the Foot about our current positions. The others are in trouble. We need to get to them, STAT." I turned to Mya to ask her to get her cousins, but she was already walking off.

"I'll get the twins," she waved her hand animatedly, moving away briskly.

"So what's the plan, Donny?" Michelangelo asked, anxiously following me back towards the entrance of the Black Hawk.

I glanced at my hopping brother out of the corner of my eye, noting his damaged thigh which he tied off with a piece of cloth that one of the girls had torn off for him. My mind was racing with a hoard of thoughts, and it didn't seem to want to settle on one thing given the after effects of the gas. My ears were buzzing and my senses were messed up; along with my shoulder that I couldn't bear to move. _You guys must be feeling miserable,_ I muttered internally, picturing the injuries each one of us have sustained in the last twenty-four hours. I had to face the daunting fact that we weren't fit to fight, much less do anything, yet we were up against an egotistical maniac who was trying to destroy us at every turn.

"The plan is to pick up the others immediately," I replied, launching my body back into the aircraft.

Mikey came up and loaned his arm to the four young women to come in, and then we rolled the medic out; rudely pushing his body out if the chopper so that dropped on the hard ground with a painful thud; not bothering to spare a concerned glance at the unconscious man's body. Mikey pulled the door in, slamming it shut, and I took my place in the pilot's seat.

"You know what, bro?" my brother started, plopping down in the seat next to me. I cast him a weary look as he continued his deliberation. "It's not so bad once you get used to it: the watery eyes, burning – runny nostrils, sore throat. It's almost like a bad cold…on a bad day. I think we'd be the best candidates for a flu-remedy advertisement; all honest and raw. Not to forget: handsome," he paused thoughtfully to look back briefly before turning his head back to me.

"At least the air is clearer or else I think I'd be as dead as a door knob by now. Hey! You should get a sample of the gas, you know - try to recreate it in your lab or something. Maybe we could use it someday. Would you get a sample if you stuck a cotton ball in your nose to extract the chemicals?" Michelangelo's thoughts switched back and forth at the speed of lightning, bouncing between different walls of his brain.

I shook my head at him as I lifted the vehicle into the air. "How about I stick a cotton swab in your nose, uh? Or better yet, your mouth."

The terrapin was still talking, unaware of anything that was said to him, and then on the words: "_Mass produce it as a pepper-spray_," he went silent. His eyes lit up with delight; surely dreaming of becoming a millionaire.

I snorted, "Are you done prattling?"

"What? Heck no! I just began," he flashed one of his toothy grins at me, effortlessly trying to lighten the mood. He could sense the grimness of the situation in me just as I could sense it in him. I saw it in his shimmering eyes; masked by the wide smile in them; flawlessly faking calmness. We've seen it a million times in the past, and it took me one moment after eighteen years to dig past the exterior, and see it for what it truly was: a facade. Sometimes I wanted to believe that his natural behavior _to_-_lighten-things-up,_ despite his true feelings, was genetically encoded in his DNA. _Something the rest of us lacked_.

I listened to him talk for most of the ride until we made it over the docking area, where the rotors caused the some of the boats to sway in our wake after disturbing the surface of the waters below. "Keep an eye out for them, Mike," I began just before a spree of activity caught my eyes.

"I think you spoke too soon, Donny. It looks like those guys have already sent up their signals for us," he pointed at a group of dark figures who were advancing upon the yacht, carrying fire arms. Other figures, whom I made out to be our people, were on the top most deck, fighting off scores of men that dared to climb onto the boat. The sight pretty much resembled an army of black ants clambering over a few morsels of food crumbs. Our guys were outnumbered by five to one. "Don, do something," the anxious orange-masked turtle all but barked at me; his eyes darkened by earnest resolve. "What are we waiting for? We have to blast them with this thing," he said finally, searching the control panels for the system weaponry.

Lowering the Black Hawk, I scoffed at my brother's suggestion, shaking my head at his lack of observation skills. "I hate to break it to you, Mike, but this bird was customized for civilian usage only." When I saw the chopper, I was shocked to see that Karai had even considered flying unarmed.

Turning his head to me, Mikey raised an eye ridge in disbelief. "What are you saying, Donny? You don't mean -" His hairless brows furrowed in understanding and then he scowled at the aircraft in exasperation, "You mean this thing's got no guns, no weapons, nothing!"

I answered his question with a wan grimace, repressing the urge to slap my palm against my forehead despairingly. Michelangelo's jaw dropped and he leaned forward to look down, "Huh, that sucks," he pronounced, mostly disappointed. "Well then, what are you waiting for?"

I glanced at him; a bit perplexed by the question. He nodded his head and smiled back at me with his eyes: mischievous. "Let's do what we do best; improvise!" The turtle jumped into a positive tone and then with a withering smile added, "Things can't get any worse than this, right?"

"Don't jinx it." I was already dropping altitude to give Raph and the others a chance to climb into the helicopter when something hit the glass fast and hard, causing Mikey and I to duck. The ninjas had turned their guns on us, spraying the chopper with bullets. Golden sparks exploded sporadically on the outside where the ammo collided with the metal exoskeleton of the beast.

"Idiots," I snapped; immediately turning the Hawk around while trying to lift it into the air in an attempt to save it from being destroyed with us inside. I was concerned for the fuel tank which could explode like a cracked-up Fourth of July firework display if one of them were to hit it. The Foot had Karai and the others penned on the yacht as they closed in their attacks, gaining the upper hand with numbers, and it was that that made me change _flight plans_ to risk the fuel tank. Leo, Raph, April and Casey's lives came first. _Whether or not we all die in the process, _I thought ruefully.

"Don, I don't think she can take this kinda fire," Michelangelo pointed out in a worried tone.

"Yeah, you don't think I'm aware of that?" I growled impatiently, gritting my teeth in irritation as I tried to maneuver the Hawk away from the trigger-happy ninjas; up and around to get to our siblings.

"Well _excuse_ me, Mr. '_Don't-point-out-the-obvious-to-me-cause-I'm-a-super-genius.'_ No need for you to be a snapping turtle," Michelangelo's mocking reply came.

I rolled my eyes, _I wasn't snapping at you._

Then, with exceptionally poor timing, I heard a bullet hit something that produced a strong hissing sound. _No, no, no,_ I swore as the warning lights for the engine came on, infusing us with the red glow of the gleaming bulbs that flashed like a thousand evil eyes from hell. The warning alarm buzzed with vengeance in my ear, alerting us to engine failure. "Aw, crap," the words fell from my mouth, and dropped like a bell into the chaotic sounds of the chopper, stirring with them.

The engine automatically disengaged from the main rotor, allowing the craft to go into autorotation which meant that the rotors were spinning on their own. I had no other option but to land the chopper wherever I could. "They blew our engine out, Mike. We need to land so be ready for anything," I informed my orange-masked sibling.

"Roger that, Captain," he lifted his hand and saluted me, turning towards the passengers in the back. "Brace yourselves, ladies. We're going down," Michelangelo warned them as I piloted the Hawk to descend upon the water-stained harbor that floated on the inky waves; mapping its way through rows of neatly lined luxury boats. They danced on the calm water gracefully as the wind rocked them; completely oblivious to the pandemonium about.

The ninjas kept up their relentless shooting, and we were ducking the shots that ricocheted off the metal. The bullet proof glass; which was once a blessing, had turned into a complete obstruction, because it was frosted over by circular web-like cracks with bullets at the epicenters.

I struggled to balance the aircraft as it made its descent, riding on the wind that propelled its rotors. The men were coming nearer towards us with their attacks, forcing me to violently turn the plane in the opposite direction; only to have the nose over the small space of open water between the yacht and jetty, and the tail over jetty itself. I was losing control over the helicopter. I saw when Michelangelo realized this as well because he bared his teeth, and ground them into each other like a mill. I had no choice but to drop the _bird_ down right in the middle of the 'storm'.

"Okay," I decided that it was time to take drastic measures if we were going to crash. "If you guys want us to go down so badly, then you've got your wish." I enunciated each word menacingly as I forced the aircraft to tilt so far backwards that it was almost touching the boards of the harbor, and then the rotation began. The nose swung left as the tail dipped right, and blood curdled screams filled the air as the blades swiped through Foot ninjas as smoothly as a brush cutter would level off weeds.

Half of the gun fire stopped with that, but the plane wasn't finished with its unbalanced swing. We swung around in the other direction, taking down a few more unlucky ninjas who refused to move out of the way. The others dived off the wooden planks into the chilly waters below. I could almost hear the sound of blood and gore splashing everywhere, dropping into the water and on the wood. Suddenly, I felt the world tip upwards as we dipped further backwards and jerked violently forward when the tail crashed into the jetty, ripping it apart as if it were mere paper.

"No-o-o-o-o," I groaned, trying my best to hold against the jack-hammer tremors that assaulted my body. The chopper jolted, turning around to make a complete 360-degree turn, and took away part of a yacht that was next to Takahashi's vessel. "Mikey, we gotta bail!" I shouted at the turtle, watching him hold on to his seat for stability. More alarms went off inside of the cockpit, adding to the irritation I was feeling in my bones.

He started before launching out of the seat. "What about you?" He held back to look at me expectantly like the big brother that didn't want to leave his younger sibling behind. _Except; we were the same age, and I don't think any of us have ever considered him as an 'elder' sibling._

"I'll be right behind you, okay," I tried to give him the most reassuring look ever; ready to get off this death trap as soon as he and the others were safely outside. Satisfied with my answer he disappeared from the cockpit.

I heard the door slide open and crash against the chopper's body with a loud bang, and then came my brother's loud, however comical voice. "Okay, people. We gotta jump out of this _bird_ now; ladies first."

The helicopter rocked back until it hovered dangerously close to tearing away the professor's boat, sending some of the other ninjas overboard in fear of being sliced into chunky pieces. I had to admit. I was enjoying this. The rotors of this thing were terrifying enough without it threatening to crash down during autorotation.

"Donatello, everybody's out. It's just me and Ayame now!" Mikey shouted over the rapid, thundering blades. I regretted not having engine power to shut it down, much less to fly it. "See ya down below, Donny boy. Geronimo!" His voice slowly faded into the background noises, emphasizing the fact that he was gone.

_Yes, of all the corny phrases and sayings he could use; he had to use that one. _I sighed heavily, shaking my head in disapproval. _Now it's my turn._ I released my safety belt, and bolted from the aircraft to reach at the exit where the salty winds licked my face like an anxious Saint Bernard. It was wet and cold. I looked down at the water below in apprehension and clung to the metal frame of the Hawk as it landed nose first on a neighboring boat, shuddering violently. I jumped; plunging into the shadows of the waves as the rest of the helicopter finally came crashing into the water.

I began swimming for the professor's boat, and heard when the chopper slapped down into the water behind me. It created a wave that engulfed me at first before spitting me forward, but not too long before a suctioning current hungrily dragged me back towards it. The _bird _tilted on its side, causing the rotors to come to an abrupt halt, and the sea began swallowing it up with a wide mouth as the water rushed into the air filled plane. I had to use every muscle in my legs to kick away from the pulling forces so that the drowning Hawk wouldn't take me along with it. Fighting hard against the death grip the water had on me, I swam towards the pier and upon passing the professor's yacht, face bobbing beneath and above the water; I saw a string of huge, red Japanese writing painted across the side. It read: _Resting Man_.

_Resting Man? Who in the world gives a sea vessel a masculine name? _The entire thing seemed odd to me since most sea men referred to their boats in the feminine order. If not; it would be given a neutral name. _Resting Man,_ I glanced at the boat once more as I stretched my hand to the edge of the wooden planks. _Resting Man, yes! That would explain the professor's phrase: 'He, who is laid to rest; finds his piece.' That's it! This is it!_

"Donatello, stop grinning like a mad, evil scientist and take my hand," Michelangelo's concerned voice interrupted my thoughts, and I looked up to see my straining sibling, kneeling down, stretching his hand for me.

"Mikey, did you see the name of the boat? Now it all makes sense, doesn't it?" I asked in excitement; forgetting for a flash second that this was not the time to revel in the revelation. I had a smile on my face when I said it, and was graced with a severely disturbed scowl from my brother.

A quick, sullen "No," was the response I got from a chorus of five voices.

"Never mind." With a sheepish grin I accepted his help and climbed up on to the deck, possibly weighing a thousand pounds, and turned to see a couple of men clothed in black, sprinting in our direction. _This was bad_, I gritted my teeth. The salty air went still as we all tensed up with knowledge of being trapped on the pier.

"More Foot," Michelangelo dead panned, blowing out a puff of air that screamed exhaustion. He moved forward, favoring his bad leg, and leaned into a lazy fighting position.

"Yep," I nodded, watching their numbers multiply as they approached us like jungle cats waiting to pounce on its prey - cornered, outnumbered, and definitely outmatched.

"Do you know if they take bribes?" Mya asked out of the blue, gaining a pair puzzled glances from my sibling and I. She blew a stray curl off her nose and shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe we could pay them to leave us alone," she suggested wittingly.

We scoffed at the remark. "Yeah right…" I took a stance to fight, preparing for the small cloud of black that was rolling in to terminate our lights when one of the girls' voices caught my attention.

"Donatello-san, look," Keiko pointed in the direction of the bobbing _Resting Man;_ which was comfortably rolling on the waves like an old soul enjoying his retirement in a hammock.

We all turned and saw two figures kneeling on the starboard side with their heads tilted upwards; ultimately forced by the long blades pressed against their necks. They had both a male and female hostage; and I immediately knew that it was Casey and April. The Foot had compromised them aboard the vessel, while our other brothers and Karai stood in the background at a standstill. They were penned in by ninjas, and apparently they had found the box – judging from the cuboid object in Raph's hand that he was now placing on the ground in surrender.

My stomach began doing flips at the sudden turn of events, causing bile to rise up in my throat, and I really couldn't imagine how we were going to get out of this mess from here on. That was not the only problem on the ship. The other thing made us go pale, Michelangelo and I, and we lost our words somewhere on the gale that sucked the air out from around us. _Why us?_

"Is that…?" Nicole started, but did not bother with finishing the question as she stared at the boat in surprise. Her brows wrinkled in confusion and frustration; not to mention, horror.

"No way," Mya whispered, hanging on to her sister with even more desperation that before.

"How?" Keiko asked with a shaky voice. She was struggling to help her semi-conscious sister up to her feet. The girl was absolutely drained of color, and her drenched black hair seemed to weigh her down, making it seem like an impossible task to get her moving.

_Right about now, it didn't even make sense to try to move. We were stuck, and there was one other person on the boat that we didn't count on seeing again..._

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><p>~<em>No, I can't take one more step towards you, because all that's left is regret.<em>

_Learned to live half alive, and now you want me one more time._

_And who do you think you are, running around leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts, tearing love apart. You're gonna catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul. So don't come back for me. Don't come back at all. Who do you think you are?~_

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><p><em>I'm bored. Thanks for reading. Be so kind and leave a useful review, please.<em>

_Things to note: Changes will be made to the earlier Chapters. (^_^)_


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